Justice: Sequel to Doppelgänger
by Linda09
Summary: Third and Final book in the Regression Series. Story moves between T mostly to M for the occasional strong language and sexual content - Clois
1. Chapter 1

If you were thinking, gee after all that build up Doppelganger ended a bit abruptly; well yes you're right. Was there a reason? Yes there was.

Even though Regression (R), Doppelganger (D) and Justice (J) all combined make one really one long story, between the end of R and the beginning of D a month had passed. That is, in the story timeline it was a month later when D opened and a further two weeks before Clark's life was affected once again. However, as you know by the way D ended, Clark is on a mission to get his life back properly. So between the end of D and the beginning of J, there is NO break at all.

D had come to the end of its road so to divorce it from J, I had to terminate D suddenly and without fanfare, so that J could take over and continue the final chapter in this series. J is really just an extension of D but a separation was needed for the storyline to work (hopefully you'll understand once you start reading).

If you haven't read Regression and Doppelganger, I **strongly** advise you to do so, as Justice hits the ground running with no apology. There is no build up, no time to stop and smell the flowers and no back story; it literally takes up where D ends.

Linda

oOo

_Ecclesiastes 3: 1-8_

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven:

A time to be born and a time to die,

a time to plant and a time to uproot,

A time to kill and a time to heal,

a time to tear down and a time to build,

A time to weep and a time to laugh,

a time to mourn and a time to dance,

A time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,

a time to embrace and a time to refrain,

A time to search and a time to give up,

a time to keep and a time to throw away,

A time to tear and a time to mend,

a time to be silent and a time to speak,

A time to love and a time to hate,

a time for war and a time for peace.

_New International Bible_

oOo_  
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_Summary: There comes a time when the truth will out, when restitution must be made; there comes a time for Justice._

**Chapter 1**

Clark knew that he should sleep, come tomorrow he was going to be busy searching for the book, finding a way to merge his two selves back together correctly then looking for a way to take any power Lana still had away, but he didn't want to close his eyes. He just wanted to continue savouring the feeling of holding Lois close in his arms, while he was awake and aware.

The problem was that no matter how close he held her, it didn't feel close enough. Being taken from Lois had scared him, knowing that Lana had the book, so also the power to do it again frightened him; but it was the unknown that terrified him. According to J'onn, Lana had decided to wait for him to realise that he didn't love Lois, and in turn re-discover his love for her, but when he didn't, or if she changed her mind before he could stop her….that was the unknown.

Gathering Lois closer against his chest, he brushed his hands lazily up and down her spine which helped to soothe his anxieties somewhat. Nuzzling his nose into the crook between her neck and shoulder, and smelling the scent that was hers alone calmed him even further. He pressed lips softly against her jaw before lifting his hand to stroke his fingers over her cheek, but ended by pressing it against his mouth when a mammoth yawn overtook him.

When his eyes grew heavy and scratchy he rubbed them hoping to force himself to stay awake, but was finding it hard to do. The events of the past few days, culminating in the agony of being merged back together were all taking its toll. His eyes closed, he forced them open, they slid closed again, he shook his head lightly compelling them open once more, until finally the lids dropped down pulling him deep into slumber.

He'd no sooner fallen asleep than Lois was shaking him awake. Why did the night time hours go by so fast? He groaned and rolled over taking her with him, cuddled her against his chest gently and hoped that would be enough to still her movements. However, when she continued to jiggle his shoulder, he decided that waking up might not be so bad after all. His mouth curved, lashes fluttered up, eyes focused and the smile automatically dropped from his lips.

He rubbed his eyes but the view didn't change. All he could see was ice, ice all around him; he was back in the fortress.

"Are you alright?" He heard the voice but was scared to look "Smallville; are you ok?" He turned his head, saw his twin kneeling beside him, and closed his eyes.

After taking several deep breaths, his lashes fluttered open, and again all he could see was spears of ice up above. Reaching out with his hand, he hesitated for a moment before touching his twin's knee. At the solidness under his fingertips he knew this wasn't a nightmare, or hallucination; it was real "Clark?"

"Yeah"

"What am I doing here?"

"What'd you mean?"

"I mean, how did I get here?"

Clark raked a hand through his hair and sighed "Don't you remember? Lana was going to reverse the spell. I mean she must have done something because I've never felt so much pain in my entire life but..."

Becoming impatient with the soliloquy he cut in "I know that Clark, but after I woke up last night I went home to Lois and..."

Clark shook his head slowly "Smallville you haven't been anywhere."

"Yes I have." He retorted tightly "I went home to Lois and..."

"You haven't been anywhere." Clark repeated cutting him off quietly but firmly.

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"I woke up about 20 minutes ago, found you lying beside me and I've been trying to wake you up since then." He replied gently.

"That's impossible!" Smallville felt his heart tilt, and knew that his twin was speaking the truth, but didn't want to accept. He sat up, and looked his double dead in the eye "When I woke up I had memories of both our lives in my head Clark. I remembered how it felt to be you; being married to Lana, feeling happy at first then later trapped and miserable with no way out. Hating the dreams when they first started; then needing them just to get through another day. Meeting Lois again, knowing that I should have waited for her, and feeling the despair that I could never be with her. I remembered it all and I **felt** it all."

Once again Clark shook his head slowly "You've been dreaming. I don't know how long we've been here, but either yesterday or earlier today Lois walked away after discovering the truth. Lana did something that affected us both, and while you were unconscious, you dreamt that although everything wasn't alright, you were with Lois once again." He paused and continued regretfully "You said that you had memories of both our lives in your head. Well you do have yours, and in a way you also have mine." When his twin flinched, he smiled sadly "You've read my journals and you know that nothing I've felt or thought was hidden; not in them. They were the only place before you arrived where I felt free to speak out the truth about my life, and what was in my heart."

Smallville felt his mouth become dry; his heart batter against his rib cage "You're saying that I never went home to Lois."

"Neither of us has gone anywhere." Clark confirmed once again.

"But...but it was so real." He whispered wretchedly.

"I'm sorry." Clark replied squeezing his twin's shoulder "I really am sorry. If your dream was as solid and tangible as the one's I've had, then I know that finding out it wasn't true hurts like hell, because the real nightmare is waking up and having to live without her."

Smallville pressed his lips together hard to control the quivering of his chin, before dropping his head in his hands "I had a fight with Lois."

Clark frowned lightly and shook his head "You couldn't have had a fight with Lois because you haven't seen her; if you were fighting then it was with yourself."

He dropped his hands, looked at his twin and confessed softly "I was angry with her for turning me away and going back to Oliver. She made me face that I was angry, felt betrayed and...it was all me." He closed his eyes before opening them to fasten on his twin's once again "I didn't want to acknowledge it. I told you, mom and even myself that I didn't blame Lo for not remembering our life, for turning away and although that was true, I still felt betrayed by it."

Clark nodded gently "Take it from someone who knows, when you're awake you can pretend anything you like, but when you're asleep and you're minds at peace, the truth will out."

He let out a deep breath and bobbed his head minutely "I knew that logically it was another life for her, but in my heart all I could focus on was that Lois and I had been together only three days before. I was so angry and hurt because I expected her to remember our life, remember that she loved me and when she didn't, I felt completely gutted. While I was dreaming she made me face it. She said that if I didn't, if I kept pretending that I was ok about it, that one day I'd drive her away with suspicion."

"Lois didn't make you face that Smallville, your inner voice; your heart, did. If everything had been reversed correctly, you wouldn't have remembered my timeline or Lo turning you down, but your heart was still carrying the scars from when she left earlier. I think if you didn't acknowledge how you really felt, when everything was ok one day you would have driven her away. You would have questioned her and been suspicious without even understanding why you were doing it, and that's why you made yourself face it." Clark paused and asked low voiced "How do you feel now that you know it was only a dream?"

He smiled fleetingly "I feel good about it. Dream or not I have faced it, and I know that Lois and Oliver never betrayed me."

Clark tilted his head slightly in accord "No, they didn't."

"Did you ever feel like they had?"

"No."

Smallville nodded in acknowledgement "I must have known you felt that way, because I told Lois that you were more practical minded than me about our situation." He pressed his lips together and lifted them in a small smile of pathos "Thinking about it now, most of the time I talked to her about you in the third person, but referred to myself in the first."

Clark smiled lopsided "That makes sense, it would have been easy to put yourself in my place since you read my journals and we've talked, but you're not me; not really. So in the dream you were the dominating personality, while I was the extra; do you know what I mean?"

"Yeah I do." He sighed and confessed softly "She said that she loved me; both Clark and Smallville."

"We _call_ you Smallville, but your name is really Clark Kent. Lois hasn't called me Smallville in years, not in real life and never in the dreams." Clark paused and when his twin nodded in accord, he continued "However, right now _**both**_ of those names are important to you; otherwise she wouldn't have used Smallville at all." He replied kindly.

He bobbed his head and scrubbed his hand over his eyes "God, it was so real Clark."

"I know." He smiled dolefully "If there's anyone who understands how real a dream can feel, and how much of a jolt it is to find out it's not upon awakening, it's me.

"I've read your journals but I didn't understand before, not really; now I do." He sighed heavily and scrubbed his hands over his face "Even knowing that I was dreaming it still feels like it happened, like I really was with Lo again. How long will it take before my heart accepts that I wasn't?"

Clark shrugged helpless "I'll let you know when I find that out myself."

He swallowed hard and looked around the room "Do you know how long we were unconscious?"

"No, my watch says it's just after 9 o'clock but..." Clark shrugged helplessly.

He frowned lightly "I don't remember blanking out; unlike the last time I didn't feel the burning reaching my heart, I just remember trying to stay conscious."

Clark nodded "Me too, I looked up at one point and saw that you were out, but I don't remember going down either."

He flushed slightly "So you held out longer than me huh; gees how embarrassing."

Clark gave a small smile and shook his head "Yeah I held out longer, but don't forget when we were split I wasn't affected, whereas you were. So only three days before your body had already been put through the ringer, but mine hadn't."

"Are you trying to make me feel better?"

"Kind off, but it's also true."

"Thanks." Smallville sighed deeply and looked at his twin in disappointment "I was going to steal the book from Lana, merge us back together properly, and then take away any power she had before destroying the bloody thing once and for all."

Clark turned around, picked up the object and held it out to his twin "We have the book."

"How?"

"I don't know how but we still have it."

Smallville looked around the room before looking back at his twin "But your apartments not here anymore which means..."

"Which means that Lana's done something, that has once again changed everything; but we don't know what?" Clark summed up neatly.

He swore quietly under his breath and sighed heavily "She changed her mind."

"She must have done." Clark replied fatalistically "She obviously intended to reverse the spell but changed her mind at some point. What I don't understand is how she could have done anything. J'onn and I watched her all day, so we know that she never left the house. She didn't have the book or any powers; so where did Lana get the knowledge to do anything?" He asked rhetorically before pushing to his feet and stalking around the room.

Smallville likewise stood and paced around the room thinking out loud "J'onn said that she was going to reverse the spell, and she couldn't have tricked him because she didn't know that he was reading her mind, right?" Clark stopped, blew out a deep breath and nodded "Ok, well he also said that Lana had forgotten the magic, so there's no way she could have done a spell, yet obviously she's done something." He sighed heavily shook his head "So if she didn't know any magic; then how?"

Clark shrugged and rubbed his brow "I don't know how, but she has because we were affected."

"Yeah but how?" Smallville raked his fingers through his hair, tugged hard and began pacing once again "How the hell did she kno...oh SHIT! Shit, shit, shit!" He spun around and looked at his twin "We fucked up Clark, Lana does know magic."

"No she doesn't J'onn said..."

Smallville cut him off impatiently "J'onn said that she doesn't _remember_ any magic, the only thing she knew was how to transfer the memories to herself and..."

"You think when he was reading her, it triggered something and she remembered?" Clark interrupted doubtfully.

"No worse." When his twin's brow furrowed deeper, he exhaled heavily "J'onn told us that Lana knew the spell that split us Clark; she knew it verbatim." He finished by swearing colourfully.

"Yeah so..." Clark paled once his twin's words registered "Oh **fuck**! She knew that spell word for word, and inside out; she knew how to make it work and how to reverse it. So sometime after J'onn returned to the farm, she changed her mind about reversing the spell, and just went back to the past again right?"

"Exactly! J'onn was going to check up on her at 8.30 if nothing happened before that time, but it was well before then that we started to be affected. So clearly at some point she changed her mind, and while we were in agony thinking that it was ok because at least we'd have our lives back, she was actually using the spell again." Smallville finished angrily, and slapped his hands hard against his thighs.

"And because she knew that spell backwards and forwards, the book was superfluous to her needs." Clark concluded bitterly.

"Yeah." Smallville nodded shortly "Dianna said to do the spell you needed the ingredients, but for the reversal you didn't; and since Lana never left the house, she must have had some stuff on hand."

Clark rubbed his hand over the back of his neck and sighed deeply "Why the hell would she keep anything on hand, when she didn't know any magic? J'onn said reversing the spell had never even entered her head until you turned up, so why would she keep stuff if she was never going to use it?"

"I keep a photo of Lois in my wallet, even when we were living together and I saw her every day, that photo was and is important to me. You created a whole apartment from the one in your dreams, and it gave you a sense of familiarity and comfort. Likewise the magic had been important to Lana. Maybe because it gave her the power to get you back, or change her life to suit what she wanted, but even though she didn't remember how to utilise it, it had been important to her. Having the stuff available might have given her a sense of control or succour, especially after your affections for her changed." Smallville shrugged unhappily "But getting back to the point, since we were affected and the apartments gone, more than likely everything's changed once again and there's going to a third Clark now."

Clark leant against the wall and nodded "J'onn told us Lana knew that spell by heart, but we were so busy focusing on her reversing it, that we never stopped to think about her using it again."

"No we didn't..." Smallville shook his head softly "...we seriously miscalculated. She really did intend to reverse it, there's no way J'onn was wrong about that, but something made her decide to use it again instead."

Clark sighed and grew quiet for a minute before swearing softly under his breath "It was me, it was probably my fault." At his twin's raised brows, he elucidated "When I confronted Lana I told her too much. I told her we had the book, that we knew she didn't know any magic, that I was going to be with Lois, and finally that the only thing she had left was the knowledge to reverse the spell." He breathed out deeply "You and Chloe warned me not to tell her everything and although I didn't, I obviously said more than enough to push her into doing it again."

Smallville shook his head firmly "No, it was the day after you confronted her that she decided to reverse the spell and give us our lives back. It would only be normal for her to dwell on what you said, so your words might have egged her on a little, but it wouldn't have been the whole reason. If there's a third Clark and I'm betting there is, more than likely it's because Lana figured that she had nothing to lose by trying again."

Clark frowned lightly "But J'onn said that she didn't want to use magic on us, and he also said that she was going to wait for us to discover that we didn't love Lois."

"Yeah, but for all we know she could have decided that if she went back again, but this time advised her younger self to tell younger Clark the truth from the very beginning, then he couldn't accuse her of tricking him later. She knows how we feel about deception, even more so now, so she probably thought by being upfront with everything, that he'd stay devoted to his sweet honest wife." Smallville replied swiftly.

"Of course; I mean honesty being the best policy and all." Clark retorted sarcastically "And as I told you before, if Lana had told me the truth 8 years ago, I wouldn't have believed that I'd ever love anyone else, so I would have married her to prevent us from being parted."

"After you left the house mom asked me if we had dreamt of our life with Lois years ago, would we have married Lana anyway, and I told her yes." When Clark's mouth opened in protest, Smallville continued undaunted "I said that even though I've lived it, and you've dreamt it, when we were younger Lana was the only thing that mattered. We would have been...upset knowing that she wasn't part of our future, so we would have done anything to ensure that she was; regardless of any dreams that we'd had." He finished quietly.

Clark stared at his twin for a long moment before nodding grudgingly "Yes we would, and it burns like hell to admit it." He sighed heavily and posed the next "Ok, so getting back to the point; for Lana it's not technically using magic on us, if she goes to the past and tells young Lana everything, then further advises her to tell young Clark everything, before suggesting they should elope to safeguard their future, and to further ensure that Lois won't come between them." He rubbed his brow wearily "We both know that he'd do it, and then Lana has a clear conscience about not using magic to get us back; even though it takes magic for her to go to the past, to get what she wants."

"Precisely; so we'll go to the farm and meet Clark, he's going to tell us that he's been miserable and blah blah but because Lana didn't lie to him, he can't leave her even though he loves Lois." Smallville smiled humourlessly.

Clark wiped a hand over his face and shook his head "There's no apartment here, so he might not love Lois."

"Do you believe that?"

"No, if he came from you, me or a combination of us then he's going to be in love with Lois as well."

"Yes, mind you I think that Clark Kent in any universe is meant to be with Lois Lane, so he'd love her whether he came from us or not, but for now we'll worry about our own world." Smallville smiled tightly.

Clark nodded then offered a suggestion "We don't have to go and meet the new Clark; we have the book so we can just reverse the spell to take us back to my timeline."

"Yeah but the only problem is that we thought you were feeling the effects earlier due to us being merged back together. However, since we now know that didn't happen, we still don't know if you're going to be affected or not when it does. As you now know the separation hurts like hell, so if the assimilation does too then he's going to be affected, and we can't let him be caught unaware like that." Smallville finished with a small shudder.

Clark grimaced and shook his head in accord "God no, that was agony and although there was no way I could have been prepared for it, it would have been a whole lot worse if I didn't know why it was happening."

"Yeah..." Smallville blew out a deep breath and shook his head in frustration "...We also have another problem. Mom and Chloe aren't going to remember your timeline, anymore than they remembered mine; so we're back to square one again."

"Not quite, the first time you never found out what caused young Lois to be in the future with all of you. In my timeline no one knew there was a problem at all until you showed up and talked to Jor-el. However, this time we're not going in blind; we know up front that Lana's behind it all, so that puts us one up." Clark reminded his twin.

"Yeah, and the only other positive in this damn mess is that even though we never destroyed the book, at least Lana never got it back either. So I'll consider it a plus that whatever she did, it wasn't enough to return the book to her." He replied soberly and at his twins nod, he shuddered once again "I hope like hell Lois isn't married in this timeline Clark. I know that you're not me but in a way you are, so I know that I shouldn't be a hypocrite about it because you're married to Lana, but the thought of Lo being married, having children with anyone but me..."

Clark swallowed hard "You're worried that Lana married the new Clark, and then somehow got Oliver to return to Smallville before Lois left to travel, and played cupid to get them back together, thereby ensuring Lo was forever out of Clark's reach correct?" At his twin's nod, he nodded in reply "We both know that Lana never thought of anyone's problems but her own, but she would consider Lois her problem, so yes; that had occurred to me as well. But until we go and find out if that is what's happened, don't entertain the possibility, ok?"

Smallville sucked in a deep breath "Ok; so let's go."

"Jor-el's program wasn't altered the last time, so the same should be true now. Maybe he could tell us what's going on."

"He'll tell us the same thing he told me last time. That our lives are wrong, someone's mucked about with the past, there are now three of us, and we all have to work together to fix it before everything right's itself." Smallville summed up neatly.

"True." Clark nodded in agreement.

"Like before we're going to have to split up and fly really fast so that no one sees us. We can't assume that Superman doesn't exist, but until we know otherwise let's play it safe, ok?" Smallville suggested.

"Ok, so I'll meet you at the farm shortly." The two men floated up, flew to the rim of the fortress and after exchanging salutes, took off in opposite directions.

oOo

Although he was moving faster than the eye could see, that didn't prevent his vision from being affected. Looking around the first thing Smallville noticed was that it wasn't night, which meant they'd been unconscious for a lot longer than they'd previously assumed. That wasn't surprising really, the first time around it had hurt like hell when he'd been split, but this time it had been so much worse. He didn't know why, but it had been. Shaking off thoughts that at present were irrelevant, he flew over the farm and landed beside the barn. Less than a minute later, he saw Clark swooping in from the opposite side, sent him a wave and was joined by his twin.

"It's not night time."

"I noticed, but whether that's important or not..." Clark trailed off and shrugged "Also there was no barrier on my side, how about on yours?"

Smallville shook his head "No, but since we were clearly unconscious longer than I was when I arrived in your timeline, the wall would have had plenty of time to fall before we even woke up."

"Yeah; I was hoping no invisible wall meant nothing had happened, but I knew that was wishful thinking." He looked around, zeroed in on the house, saw his mom was in the kitchen and smiled "For now let's go and see mom."

Smallville smiled for the first time "She's gonna be surprised seeing both of us, but..." Breaking off, he likewise looked around before turning back to his twin "I don't see him, do you?"

Clark swept his gaze over the farm, through the house and barn, over the fields but ended by shaking his head as well "No, he could be in town or still at home with Lana."

Smallville took a quick look at his watch and calculated "It's just after 10, and that has to be am considering its daytime. So if he works the farm like you did, then he'd have to be here somewhere or he's in town getting supplies. He wouldn't be at home with Lana at this time of the morning."

"He especially wouldn't be at home with Lana this late in the morning if he's unhappy, and just wants to get away from her." Clark put in dryly "Look, let's just go and talk to mom, tell her we're here and give her enough information so that she's not scared. When the other Clark arrives we can fill them both in to save having to repeat ourselves."

Smallville nodded "Alright, but one of us has to go and give mom a heads up that there's two of us first, and then the other can follow a minute later ok?"

"Ok, I'll go in first." Clark offered, Smallville bobbed his head agreeably, and the two men walked to the house and up the stairs.

Leaning his shoulder beside the doorframe, Smallville waved his twin forward; Clark pulled the door open and stepped inside.


	2. Chapter 2

Hi everyone

In this chapter you'll find that just as Clark and Smallville are different due to their distinct life experiences, the same is true for Clark #3.

Linda

oOo**  
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**Chapter 2**

Martha Kent looked over at the sound of the door opening, saw her son and with a scream, ran and threw herself into his arms. She hugged him tight, pulled back to smile at him, swept the hair from his brow and pulled him into her arms again.

"Mom" Clark laughed hugging her back, before attempting to gently pull her arms from around his neck.

She squeezed him tight again before letting go and grabbing his hand "Come and sit down sweetie." After pushing him onto a stool at the kitchen island, she looked around the room then turned back to him once again "Do you want some coffee, or breakfast, or perhaps you'd like a shower first..."

"Mom..." Clark cut in laughing and taking both her hands in his, urged her to sit on the stool beside him "Mom, I have something to tell you but I don't want you to be frightened ok?" She nodded and turning towards the door, he called "You can come in now."

When Smallville stepped inside, Martha looked between the two men and pointing her finger at the newest man demanded "Clark Jerome Kent; is he your son?"

"What! No."

When the men began to laugh, she felt the flush stain her cheeks "Well, how was I supposed to know?"

"Mom how could he be my son, he's fully grown?"

"Well yes but we don't know how fast your children will age so..." She trailed off and coughed lightly in chagrin "Forget I said anything; so if he's not your son, then who is he?" She asked looking between the two men.

"We're both your son mom." Smallville told her quietly. When she frowned again, the two men looked at each other and shrugged "We need to tell you what's going on but can I just confirm that your son..." he stopped and lifted his eyes heavenward "...by your greeting, I'm guessing that your other son doesn't live at home?"

Martha shook her head slowly "Are you telling me that I now have three sons?"

When the men nodded, she sighed heavily in acceptance, rose, screamed and jumped into Smallville's arms, giving him the same greeting that she'd previously given Clark.

He grinned and hugged her back "What was that for?"

"Well since you're also my son, then I'm not going to let you feel left out." She retorted militantly "Now sit, I'm getting you both some coffee and then I want to know everything."

"If you can tell us where your other Clark is, one of us will go and get him, bring him back and then we can explain everything to you both."

"I'll do that but can you at least tell me how I now have three sons."

"It was done by magic mom, someone did this. They changed my past which created Clark..." Smallville pointed at his twin "...and although we haven't seen another Clark, we know there is one because we were both affected last night."

Her brow wrinkled in confusion "I don't understand; are you trying to say that you're all the same man?"

"Yes." Clark confirmed with a nod.

She rubbed her brow and nodded "Ok, well Clark's in Africa. I don't know what region exactly but..."

"That's ok mom, I'll find him and bring him back but um is the offer of breakfast still open?" Smallville asked hopefully.

She smiled at once "Of course, you go and get Clark, I'll make breakfast and then we can all sit down to eat before you explain ok?"

He nodded, smiled and left the house in a whirlwind.

Clark gave his mother a tiny smile "Mom, aren't you scared of being alone with me?"

"Scared of my son or sons; of course not."

"But you're not used to multiple Clark's. However, you've just seen there are two of us and we've just told you there's a third." He reminded her softly.

She began to count holding up her fingers one by one "Firstly, if you were intending to do anything then I couldn't stop you. Secondly, you would have done it by now. Thirdly, I'm confused but I know my boys and just by looking into your eyes I know that you are my boys and fourthly...I'll come up with something later." She finished decisively. When his mouth opened, she held up her hand "Clark Kent enough, I am not scared of you so stop your nonsense."

He smiled "How many times have you told me to stop my nonsense?"

"I don't know; you were usually good but there were times when you tried my patience." She smiled taking any sting out of her words "Now, you know where everything is and since I'm soon going to have three grown men to feed, I'll start cooking the bacon and eggs while you make the toast and set the table."

He nodded, stood and walked to the counter to get the bread but turned and gathered her into his arms for another hug "You're the best mom that anyone could ever have."

She kissed his cheek, hugged him back and after letting go turned for the fridge but paused "Um sweetie..." He looked over "We don't have enough bacon, would you mind zipping to the store and getting some?"

He nodded, left the house and returned a few minutes later to find her cracking eggs into a bowl "I went to Metropolis because I knew that if I stopped in town, people would want to talk about when I got back etc."

"Good thinking." She took the proffered packet from his hand, slit it open and after tossing several strips onto the griddle resumed cracking the eggs.

Martha had just finished setting the platter of scrambled eggs and a second of bacon into the centre of the kitchen table, when the back door opened.

One Clark walked in and was followed moments later by a second.

oOo

Smallville flew high over Africa, keeping both his vision and hearing locked on the continent below. The land mass was large, the populous massive but with his super-senses it was fairly easy to detect his twin. Thanking god it was dark; he swooped down and landed on the roof of the hotel his new clone was currently stationed in. Zipping down the stairs, he moved quickly and stopped outside the hotel room door. After listening carefully and x-raying inside to ensure that his twin was alone, he knocked.

When the door opened, he saw the shock, the suspicion and quickly held up his hands "Don't hit me or we'll be at it all night and I really need to talk to you." Smallville said quietly.

Clark Two unclenched his fist, nodded shortly and pulled the door open, gesturing his visitor inside. After waving his double to a chair, he took the seat opposite but kept his reflexes ready for either fight or flight. Looking his clone in the eye he asked bluntly "Who are you and what'd you want?"

Smallville rubbed his hand over the back of his neck "I'm Clark Kent the same as you and explaining how that happened is going to take some time. I know you need to hear it all but I don't want to repeat myself. There's another me at the farm with mom..." When his twin's face hardened, he quickly shook his head "I swear we don't intend to hurt her Clark. You can call her if you don't believe me; but I promise you on dad's grave that we'd never ever hurt mom."

Clark Two let out a deep breath and nodded shortly "Ok but if I don't find her 100 percent intact and unharmed, I swear that I'll hunt you both down and make you wish that you'd never come here."

Hearing the rock hard resolution in his voice, Smallville didn't doubt that his twin would do as promised "I'm not lying; I would **never** lie about something like that." He promised quietly "Look I want you to come back to the farm with me so that we can talk to you and mom at the same time; please can you come?"

"Yes." Clark Two stood up and zipped around the room, shoving all of his belongings into the duffel bag that he retrieved from the cupboard, before coming to stop a minute later "Let's go, I know what you said, but if you're willing to let me be with my mom then I'm not going to refuse."

Smallvill nodded and lead the way to the roof, then turned to his twin "I won't be a good idea for us to fly together, so I'll meet you at the farm ok?"

Clark Two nodded and without further ado, took off, zooming past countries and oceans intent on getting back to the farm.

oOo

When the door opened and one man entered the farm house, followed by a second that appeared slightly winded a few moments later, Martha looked between them, promptly screamed and jumped into the first Clark's arms.

He laughed in the sheer relief at finding her well and wrapped his arms tight around her waist "How do you know which one I am?"

"Because silly you're all wearing different shirts; the jeans are the same but the shirts my clue." Pressing a kiss against his cheek, she let him go and looked at all three men, now standing side by side by side.

"Eat first, talk later."

Hearing the tone in her voice and having obeyed it all their lives, two of the men nodded immediately, but one didn't budge. The newest member to the household reached for his mother's hand and looked into her eyes "Before we do anything, I want you to reassure me that you're alright."

"I'm fine sweetie." Martha smiled gently "He's you, so he was the perfect gentleman."

"And now I want to know why you didn't call me?" Without giving her time to answer, he questioned further "Did they stop you from calling me mom?"

She shook her head and cupped his face in her hands "Sweetie, the only thing these men have done is hug and kiss me. If they wanted to hurt me they could have done it instantly, you know that." He nodded reluctantly but when his mouth opened, she pressed a finger against his lips "Even though they look exactly like you, that wouldn't have been enough to fool me for long; I knew just by looking into their eyes that they could be trusted."

"Ok." He pressed a kiss against her forehead and let out the deep breath that he'd been holding since learning that she was at the farm, alone and vulnerable with another him. Turning to his twins, he looked them over carefully, before zipping out of the room and returning "You really don't intend any harm?"

They shook their heads silently.

His eyes bore into them for another long minute, calculating their sincerity. With a brief nod, he picked up his mother's hand, closed her fingers around the little box that he'd retrieved then turned to face the newcomers once again "I don't know how long you've been on this planet so I'm going to give you a warning and it won't be repeated. If you even _think_ about changing your mind; DON'T! My mom now holds all the power in this room because I've just given her the one thing that will drop you to your knees in a heartbeat and then kill you."

"It will kill you too." Clark reminded him quietly.

"Yes it will but I'd rather that, than allowing her to be hurt by any Kryptonians." Clark Two replied inflexibly.

The hatred in his voice when he said the word Kryptonians was unmistakeable. The two men shared a swift silent look then turned back to him "I promised before on dad's grave that we don't intend any harm and I stand by that but what we have to tell you isn't going to be easy to hear." Smallville put in softly. When Clark Two's eyes swung in his direction, he saw the questions and the suspicion but kept his own steady hoping the truth was shining through.

Letting out a harsh sigh Clark Two nodded and gestured to the table "Then let's eat and get down to business." He held out a seat for his mom, took the one beside hers, ensured that she had the lead box close to hand and waved his doubles to the opposite side of the table.

The food was swiftly consumed then Smallville and Clark quickly washed the dishes, while Clark Two stood guard beside his mom watching them carefully. Once they were finished, they re-took their seats, Martha poured fresh coffee for all and then Clark Two looked at his doubles "Right, so get on with it and explain."

Smallville nodded but frowned lightly "I'm guessing that you're suspicious of us because we look exactly like you and also have powers, which is why you gave mom the kryptonite but why do you hate Kryptonians so much?"

"Because those bastards murdered my father so I don't trust any of them." Clark Two replied brusquely. Feeling his mother's hand on his, he turned his eyes to her "I'm sorry mom; I know you don't like bad language but I can't ever refer to them as anything but that."

"I know honey; I just hate seeing what it's done to you." Martha put in softly.

He shrugged unconcerned "At any time of the day or night, for every second since it's happened, I'd rather have dad back. But at least it taught me to be less naive, less trusting and lot more astute when it came to my kind."

She pressed her lips against his cheek "You can be anything you like but you're still my baby."

He smiled lopsided then turned back to his visitors to find them looking at each other "You were going to explain."

The two men saw the shock in each other's eyes but turned back at their new brother's voice "Kryptonians killed dad?"

"Yes." Clark Two bit out.

Clark took a deep breath "Can you tell us what happened?"

"No! So how about you start disclosing what you're here for." He demanded sharply.

Understanding that they weren't going to learn anything, until suspicions had been put to rest, Smallville turned to his twin "Me or you?"

"Since you're the first you start and I'll join in."

Nodding in agreement, Smalville turned back and looked his new brother in the eye "Can you at least tell me if you've been dreaming about living another life?" The flicker came and went so fast, he would have missed it if his attention had wavered for a moment but seeing it, he knew that like Clark, their new counterpart had likewise dreamt "So you have."

"What does that have to do with anything?" Clark Two asked tightly.

"Unfortunately the dreams have everything to do with it." Clark put in softly.

Martha looked between the three men and frowned "Dreams?"

"I'll explain mom." Smallville swiped a hand over his face and grimaced "This isn't easy, so please just bear with me...us ok?" Martha nodded promptly, Clark Two likewise nodded but with reluctance.

"We're all Clark Kent and until recently we were all the same man." Their brows wrinkled, and holding up a hand to forestall questions, Smallville continued "Only four days ago, I was a reporter at the Daily Planet, happily engaged to Lois..."

His new brother flinched, at the same time that his mom murmured "Lois."

Smallville's eyes swung in her direction and at the sadness within the depths of hers, he felt his stomach knot. Clark Two wasn't with Lois; he'd known that just by the man's manner but the way he'd recoiled as if struck when he heard of the engagement, along with his mom's response had given away the truth. His new brother was in love with Lois and once again his mom knew it. He turned to Clark, noted that his twin had come to the same conclusion and shaking of the sadness that wanted to cling to him, he turned back to his mom and nodded.

"Yes, Lo and I were engaged, we worked at the Planet with Chloe and I was using my powers to help people. Then suddenly it was all gone." Smallville confirmed steadily "That's where Clark comes in..." He paused and grimaced lightly before looking at his new brother "I'm not trying to be funny here, because it's not the time for laughter but do you mind if we call you something besides Clark?"

Clark Two frowned "Why?"

"To help prevent confusion he's called Clark..." he thumbed to his twin then pointed to himself "...and I'm called Smallville; so it'll just be easier if we all have distinct names to prevent any lines being blurred."

Clark Two shrugged indifferently "What'd you want to call me then?"

"How about CK?" He suggested.

CK nodded, but asked in bewilderment "How'd you come up with that so fast?"

"Chloe's ex-boyfriend Jimmy calls me that so..."

"Chloe?" CK cut in to ask quietly.

"Yeah, she dated..." CK's tone registered causing Smallville to pause and an arrested expression to appear on his face "Is Chloe alright?"

Martha smiled kindly "Yes sweetie she's fine; we just haven't seen her in a long time."

At the bleakness on CK's face, Smallville and Clark exchanged fleeting glances once again while similar thoughts ran through their heads. Obviously Chloe and their new brother had had a falling out which hadn't been healed. Whether it was Lana related they didn't know but suspected that it was. They were well aware that when younger they had on numerous occasions hurt, neglected or pushed Chloe aside in favour of Lana. Remembering their behaviour when Lois was in the hospital, it wouldn't surprise them if in this new timeline, Lana found a way to get CK to be brutally callous to Chloe at a time when she needed him and in return she told him to go to hell before cutting him out of her life. That would of course be one way of ensuring that Lois would have nothing to do with Clark Kent afterwards.

Lo was extremely protective of her cousin, so if CK had wounded Chloe deeply and hadn't even tried to make recompense being too tied up with Lana at the time, when Lois woke up from her coma she would have regarded him as nothing less than dirt and all their friendships would have been broken. Since their mom said that they hadn't seen Chloe in a long time and CK was clearly still hurt by that, more than likely their new brother hadn't realised the depth of his friendship with Chloe, until it was gone and too late to get back.

Since CK had been having dreams, he would now also be hurting with the realisation of what he could have had with Lois, had he not been so foolishly blind about Lana. All of this was only speculation and both were desperate to know exactly what had happened but understood that unlike their encounter, this one was completely different.

The two men sighed deeply and turning forward once again, Smallville scrubbed a hand through his hair and continued "Ok, well getting back to what I was saying, four days ago I was helping some people in China when I began to feel weak, soon afterwards pain and a burning sensation began to crawl through my body. I knew that I'd never make it back to Metropolis, so I flew here to the farm. I was flying over the fields when I hit a barrier and couldn't get through, it took a couple of minutes and then the barrier was gone. However, when the burning pierced my heart, I fell to the ground unconscious. When I woke up I was fine, came into the house and had just started eating lunch with mom when Clark walked into the house." He picked up his coffee to sip and sighed heavily "That's when we knew that something was wrong. When Clark and I exchanged stories, it became clear that our lives were the same until he married Lana, so at first I thought I was in an alternate universe, one that had been created by his marriage. However the next day I went to the fortress and Jor-el told me that someone had tampered with the past causing me to be split. So it wasn't the universe that had been created but Clark. He was ripped out of me to create two of us and the world that I knew was gone. My life, everything that I had, or accomplished was gone."

He paused and continued softly "My fiancée was no longer mine, she was living with Oliver Queen unaware that her life had been changed. For Lois, mom, Chloe and all my friends, the only Clark Kent they knew, was the one who'd married Lana when he was 19. The world had been changed and they didn't even know it."

CK 's brow wrinkled, Martha reached over and squeezed Smallville's hand. At Clark's voice all three turned to him.

"I married Lana when I was 19 and by the time I was 22 knew that I'd made a colossal mistake but it was far too late. I was bitterly unhappy and although I hadn't said anything, mom and Chloe knew it; they also knew that I was in love with Lois. I'd been dreaming for years about living another life and had created an apartment at the fortress almost identical to the one in my dreams. Smallville found it when he came to talk to Jor-el, read all my journals in which I'd recorded everything and when we came back to the farm, he told us what Jor-el had told him." He rubbed the back of his neck before shaking his head in sorrow "Since Smallville and I were the same man, or had been before we were split, I'd been dreaming about the life that had been taken from me and just never knew it. Unlike him, I didn't become a journalist or use my powers openly to help others. I just married Lana, worked the farm and that was my whole contribution to life."

"Clark..." At Smallville's voice, he shook his head again and continued "Lana did it; she used magic to go back in time so that I'd marry her when I was a raw adolescent completely infatuated with her and because of that we were split." He looked at CK and asked quietly "You're not with Lana are you?" At the head shake, he nodded "But when you were a younger she was all that you wanted right?" CK nodded slowly, Clark sighed "Be glad that you didn't end up with her."

"I am." CK replied simply. At the two men's curiosity he shrugged carelessly "I got over Lana a long, long time ago. With maturity instead of my libido guiding my actions and distorting my intellect, I know without doubt that if we had been together, we wouldn't have lasted for long."

"No you wouldn't have." Clark agreed with a quick head shake "Unfortunately, I broke up with her hastily for quixotic but stupid reasons before discovering that. So of course, as she was once again out of my reach, that just made me covet her all the more and doubly so when she was engaged to Lex..."

"To Lex?" Martha cut in surprised once again.

"That didn't happen in this timeline?" Martha and CK shook their heads. Clark's brows lifted and looking at his twin, he saw the astonishment on his face as well. "Well in ours she was engaged to Lex and we both begged her to take us back. In the original timeline Lana turned us down and that was the end of the matter. However, 8 years later she went to the past and talked her younger self into eloping with our younger self, which caused Smallville and me to be split and a new timeline to be created."

"I remember how desperately I wanted Lana to be my girlfriend when I was a kid. So if you broke up with her, then I know you must have had good reason. So why ask her to take you back, unless those reasons had changed." CK asked puzzled.

"They hadn't but all I cared about was getting her back, nothing else." Clark replied heavily "As Smallville and I were one man initially we had lived the one life. So I was him, he was me and everything he had done, so had I. But from the time we diverged, so did our lives. So the 8 years he lived after that were different to mine, do you understand what I mean?" They nodded in unison "Ok, so as this happened before my marriage, Smallville and I both lived it but I'll just use myself to explain, alright?" They nodded once again "Ok, well Lana and I dated after the meteor shower but I broke up with her a couple of months after dad died." At their swiftly indrawn breaths, both men looked at them in trepidation. Clark continued slowly wondering what he'd said that had caused their reaction "I'd hurt Lana inadvertently and was worried that if we stayed together, that she could be hurt again either by me, or just by association with me so I broke up with her and she took up with Lex not long afterwards."

"In your world..."

"In our timelines." Smallville interrupted gently "There is only one world but because we made different decisions we were split and the timeline changed, which in turn caused the world to be changed to some extent. We've already learnt of one major difference in your timeline to ours and although it wasn't a decision you made, it has resulted in changing your life. What we don't know is if that has altered everything, or if it was just the beginning. However, just the fact that you exist means the timeline has changed again but it's still the same world."

CK nodded minutely "Ok, so in your timelines, dad was still alive for several months after the meteor shower?" He asked softly looking between the men.

They both nodded lightly.

CK pressed his lips together and turned to his mom. He saw the sadness in her eyes, felt her arm slip around his waist to hug him one armed and swallowing hard, turned to his brothers "I told you Kryptonians killed dad, well it happened on the day of the meteor shower."

"How?" They asked quietly and simultaneously.

Martha squeezed her son's waist and sighed "After the meteor shower, your father found me in the rubble of the house and took me to the Medical Centre. While we were there, an explosion rent through the hallway and Jonathan went out to see what was going on. It wasn't easy but I managed to get to the doorway of my room and heard a woman tell your father that she was looking for Kal-el. I guess she must have known that he wouldn't tell her anything, because she barely gave him time speak before lifting him up by the throat and crushing his windpipe, then she and the man with her turned towards me. I don't know if they knew I was close to Clark because I was screaming Jonathan's name, or if they just sensed it as they had with him but they started walking towards me when Lana arrived. She called out, got their attention and took them away. She saved my life but it was too late for your father; he was already gone." She slipped her arm from her son's waist, swiped under her eyes, and coughed lightly to clear away the restriction in her throat.

The men likewise wiped their eyes, and after clearing his throat, Clark informed them softly "In ours, Lois helped dad find you in the rubble and took you both to the Medical Centre. When the woman was strangling dad, she stepped in and made her stop. She made herself the focus of attention and was likewise being choked herself, when Lana arrived and took them away."

CK reached for his mom's hand and clasped it tight "Lois saved dad?"

Smallville and Clark nodded.

"But you said that dad died a few months later, how?"

The men looked at each other, and sighing heavily Smallville began to explain but was cut off mid sentence.

"This is bullshit." CK pronounced forthright "I don't know who the hell you are to make up that garbage but I want you gone; out of this house and away from us right now."

"Sweetie..." Martha began only to be cut off.

"No mom I'm not listening to this." He stood and folded his arms "Now get up and get out."

Smallville looked his twin in the eye "CK we're not lying..."

"You had me going for a while, which just goes to show what an idiot I am. I really thought that I'd learnt but obviously not." When their mouths opened, he continued talking, giving neither man the chance to speak "You expect me to believe that we're all the same man. That you were engaged to Lois but Lana went to the past, married you at 19 and he was created. However, his life was an utter mess..." He thumbed at Clark before letting out a mocking laugh "...and reading between the lines, you came along, told him the truth and saved him from the life he chose and consequently hated. But instead of getting a happy ending, Lana did it again and now I exist, right?"

"If you don't believe us go to the fortress and talk to Jor-el, he'll..." Clark began only to be interrupted in turn.

"I will **NEVER** go there again." CK bit out contemptuously.

"What don't you believe exactly?" Smallville asked bluntly.

"We'll start with the part where you think that I'd ever kill my dad." CK replied scornfully.

Heartfelt grief filled both men's faces instantly "It was an accident. It was a stupid mistake that was made without any forethought. I never meant to do it; I swear to god that I never meant it to happen. I was a young selfish fool who..." Smallville trailed off and scrubbed his hands over his eyes.

Clark swallowed hard and took up the reigns "Unfortunately when I was younger, I never stopped to consider the consequences of my actions until it was too late. I was always reactive instead of proactive and dad...well he paid the ultimate price because of that. That's one of the biggest mistakes I've ever made and one that I'd give anything to undo."

CK heard the regret and remorse in each man's voice, could see the honest sincerity and grief on their faces and felt his heart squeeze tight. If these men were telling the truth; if they were indeed all the same man, then...all this time he'd blamed himself for not being there when that Kryptonian bitch killed his father. His mom had tried countless times to tell him it wasn't his fault and yet it now seemed that he'd been right all along. If his dad hadn't been killed at that woman's hand, he would have died by his sons.

He sat down hard, grasped his mom's hand and turned to find her looking at his brothers with pity.

"Sweeties..." Martha called gently, causing the men's eyes to lift to hers "I know that my son would never have killed his father deliberately." She paused at the sadness in their eyes and firmed her voice "You loved your dad. He knew it then and I still know it now, so I know it was a mistake."

They nodded minutely before their eyes sought CK's. He picked up his cup with a hand that shook, glugged down a mouthful then looked at Smallville "You said that you were engaged to Lois..." At the affirmative nod, he swung to Clark "You said that you loved Lois and dreamt of his life." Clark likewise nodded. CK looked between the two men "Do you have any proof of your life with Lois?"

"Why?"

"Do you have any?"

Smallville dug out his wallet "It's not absolute proof but it's the only thing I have." He opened the billfold, looked at the picture and handed it over.

CK took the wallet, looked at the picture and squeezed his eyes shut tight to hold back the tears that rose in his chest. Martha looked at the picture, felt her heart ache, swept her eyes in her son's direction and wanted to cry at the misery on his face. CK tried to smile but the effort was useless; after looking at the photo for another long moment, he shakily handed it back.

"That's you and Lois?" He asked Smallville quietly in a voice that trembled slightly.

"Yes..." Smallville nodded slowly "but to be precise it was us...the three of us before we were divided. This picture was taken at our engagement party to Lois last month."

His eyes moved to Clark "You dreamt about his life, the life that had been yours with Lois?" Clark bobbed his head silently "I've been dreaming too. I don't know if they're the same kind of dreams that you had...

"They'll be exactly the same." Clark put in softly.

He swallowed back the lump in his throat "I don't know that but if they are, then that means what you're saying could be true."

"It is true CK." Smallville cut in gently "The JLA exists in this timeline correct?" He and Martha nodded silently "You're not a part of it?" CK shook his head "Do you use your powers to help people?"

"If someone needs help then I help them but not openly. I'm not..." He broke off and shrugged.

"Superman." He asked softly "You've had the dreams, so you know who I mean." When CK nodded slightly, Smallville turned to his mom and gave her an explanation about his alias, before addressing them both once again "Diana Prince, better known as Wonder Woman is a friend of ours. As she's impervious to magic, she knew that something was wrong the last time and came to the farm with J'onn to help us. J'onn's also a friend from the league and one of his talents is the ability to read minds easily, so he knew from reading Diana that there was a problem."

He paused and shook his head softly "Even though the world's been changed again and no one knows it, Diana will. I can guarantee that she'll come here sometime today or tomorrow and I believe that she'll have J'onn with her. Diana remembered my timeline, which is the first one; the **real** one. She'll now also remember Clark's timeline and when she finds out that Superman isn't around, she'll know that something went wrong." He picked up his coffee and sipped at the cold contents "J'onn read Lana and told us that she was going to reverse the spell to merge Clark and I back together, which would take us back to the original timeline before our lives were ever messed about; Diana will remember that and she'll be coming with J'onn. So even if you don't want to believe us, you can test either of them in any way you like and they'll prove that we're telling the truth."

CK looked at his mom then his brothers before scrubbing his face hard with his hands "If my dreams are real, if that picture is real and if what you've told me about us, about timelines and this world being wrong is true..." pushing back his chair, he stood "I have to be alone for a bit. I want to trust you but trust comes hard for me now, so I'm going to listen to ensure that mom's alright. I have more kryptonite upstairs and you both know how fast I can move; I daresay that I'm faster than either of you because I've made sure that I am. So I'll be down in a flash if I have to but until I come back just let me be, ok?"

Martha stood and hugged her son hard "I love you sweetie."

"I love you too mom." Pressing his lips against her forehead, he turned and strode up the stairs.

Martha re-took her seat and smiled sadly at her boys "Can you tell me about the dreams he's had."

"He's dreamt of my life mom; the life that had been Clark's and his before it was hijacked." Smallville replied low voiced. He gave her a brief summary of his life until his arrival in Clark's timeline.

She listened quietly, and at the sadness on her face the two men shared eye contact before turning back to her once again "Mom, we know that CK's in love with Lois. When he saw that photo he looked..." Smallville trailed off and Clark took over "He looked the way I felt when I first found out the truth; angry, sad and a lot of other stuff. Even though he's not with Lana like I am, did he only realise that he loved Lois when it was too late and he'd lost her; is that what's wrong?"

Martha raked her hands through her hair, and sighed heavily "No sweeties, it's a lot more complicated than that. I never want my son to carry the burden of his father's death but you both know that what happened to your dad was an accident?" They bobbed their heads minutely "I know you're still hurting for it and I hate that but you've been able to find peace and live happily?"

"Yes, with yours and Lois' help I have." Smallville answered low voiced "Your forgiveness meant more than I can ever say. And Lois helped me to understand that I can't let past mistakes rule my life, or I'd end up bitter and resentful."

"It's the same for me." Clark added quietly.

"Lois was right." She swallowed back the tears and pushed on "When Clark came to the Medical Centre that day and found that his father had been murdered by that woman he was...I've never seen such fury on his face. I'd barely finished telling him what happened, when he took off after them. The whole time he was gone I was scared of what he was going to do in the heat of the moment. When he came back I asked him what happened. He told me that he'd managed to push them into some kind of portal thing, had brought Lana to the hospital and then he just broke down." She lifted her mug to sip again but wrinkled her nose "I need some water, would either of you like some."

They both nodded, but when she began to rise, Smallville shook his head and waved her back down "I'll get it mom." After retrieving glasses and a jug of water, he set them on the table and re-took his seat "What happened after that?"

Clark filled glasses for everyone, and handed one to his mom. She sipped at the water, set the glass down and shrugged sadly "After that he changed. He became quiet and withdrawn, didn't smile or try to interact with people. He helped to rebuild the town but he was different." She looked at the men and asked "Did you lose your powers after the meteor shower?"

"Yes, I was happy about it because it meant that I could be with Lana without having to hide or lie any longer. Plus, I just hated having powers and feeling different, so being rid of them felt good; I was normal at last." Clark replied and Smallville bobbed his head in accord "It was the same for me."

She nodded minutely "My Clark used to be like that. For years he just wanted to be like all the other kids in school but when he lost his powers that day he wasn't happy about it, he was scared. He wanted them back because they were the only thing that would give him the strength to fight any other Kryptonians should they come." She blew out a soft breath "He refused to go back to the fortress and he's refused to have anything to do with Jor-el. He now hates anything Kryptonian more than he ever did when he was younger."

"I guessed by what he said that he doesn't trust any Kryptonians after that woman killed dad but he has a lot of anger and pain mom and although it all seems to be grief, it appears to have different sides to it. I'm not explaining that well but when I saw him in the hotel room and again when he first arrived at the farm, he seemed hard and unyielding but just now..." Smallville trailed off quietly at his mom's nod.

"I'll try and explain." Martha replied sadly "Everything you've said is right. He doesn't let anyone in or close except for me." She looked between her sons and asked them simply "You were happy to be with Lana?" Their faces contorted slightly but they nodded all the same; she nodded in return "He had a crush on her from the time he was a boy. He tried to gain her attention for years but after that day he never pursued her, never tried to get her to notice him; nothing. She came to see him numerous times, he spent time with her and/or Chloe but it wasn't the same." She picked up the glass and sipped before putting it back down "Between hurting too much about your father's murder, blaming himself for not being here and feeling frightened of having no powers should he need them, he just couldn't care about anything else."

She rubbed her brow and closed her eyes tight before opening them to fix on her two boys "Chloe tried to help him not to internalise so much or close himself off but the only thing on his mind was keeping me safe. He ensured there was kryptonite in every room of the house, that I always carried some should I need it and he didn't like leaving the farm or me alone in case anyone came when he wasn't here. Lana and Chloe managed to coax him out for short periods with my help but it wasn't easy. He tried to distance himself from them because he loved them but he didn't want them close in case they were hurt like his father was." She took a deep breath and continued "Then one morning almost three months later, Chloe arrived and told us that she'd received a call from a boy that she knew in school warning her to get out of town. Apparently he said that Smallville was going to be wiped out of existence and she was worried. So Clark went with her while I contacted the sheriff and while they were looking into it, he was shot and died."

"That happened to us as well mom; that was when we got our powers back." Smallville told her on behalf of both of them "Jor-el told me that to bring me back to life, that someone I loved would die in my place and a few months later dad died. It was initially Lana but I turned back the day and lost dad instead." Clark bobbed his head in accord.

Martha looked between her boys and nodded sadly "Yes, I was here crying when I heard a news bulletin about a stray missile that had been stopped. I wanted to be optimistic but I knew that Clark was dead. Then the hospital called to say they'd lost my son's body and I was on the phone to them when Clark came in the door. Chloe arrived shortly afterwards and two of us were almost dancing with joy, when we noticed that he looked absolutely wretched." She pressed her lips together and gave a small smile of pathos "That's when Clark told us what happened, what Jor-el said and now he was worried that I was going to be taken in his place. If I had to die for him then I was ready to do so, he's my son and that's all that mattered but he was scared of losing me so soon after his father."

She looked down into the glass and back up again "As you know from experience, almost the minute you died Jor-el took you and brought you back to life..." They both nodded slowly, she continued in a voice that was scratchy and low "However, unlike in your case, it wasn't months before something happened in this time. Lana didn't know what was going on but she'd heard about Clark and came to see if he was alright. She left at the same time Chloe did when it was clear that he didn't want company but both girls returned the next day. Chloe was here almost at the crack of dawn, she wanted to be around in case something happened and we needed her. Lana arrived just after breakfast with some excuse but I think she just wanted to be near Clark." She looked at them both, and took a deep breath before continuing dismally "Anyway, about mid morning Chloe got a call from her father, after he received a call from General Lane..."

"Mom..." Smallville interrupted holding up a hand.

Clark knew what was coming, he knew. He wanted to swallow but his mouth had become bone dry, while his hand automatically lifted to rub at his chest where his heart was pounding madly.

Smallville didn't know if he could take hearing the rest. This was the nightmare, this place and this time. Only a little while ago he'd been with Lois, dream or not that had felt real, more real than this place and he wanted to be there with her again. He felt his heart twist tighter at the sorrow showing clearly in his mom's eyes. He was dead scared of asking the question that he already knew the answer to but as the tears crowded his chest and burned in his eyes, he licked his lips and asked in a thin voice "Mom, where's Lois?"

Martha saw that his hand was shaking, heard the wavering in his voice; looked from one son to the other, saw the tears fighting against the knowledge in their faces and felt her heart break a little more. "Lois is dead sweeties; she was in Europe when it happened. When Chloe checked her time of death against Clark's, she found they were exactly one minute apart."

"Lois." Smallville said softly in disbelief, before putting his head in his hands and giving into the sobs that tore out of his heart.

Clark squeezed his eyes shut tight, pressed his fingers hard against the lids and tried to shore up the wall that he'd hidden behind for years. Unable to sustain it, and no longer caring; he broke too.

Martha got up, stepped around the table, put one arm around each of her son's shoulders and held them while they gave into their grief.


	3. Chapter 3

Hi everyone, as you now know from the last chapter; this new timeline is pretty dark. I like exploring the possibilities of how just one thing being different, can have far bigger consequences then we realise.

Lois and her presence or the lack of it, is the one thing I picked.

In the last chapter, I very lightly touched on how her not being at the hospital to save Jonathan after the meteor shower, affected Clark's life. In this chapter I delve into it deeper and also look at how her passing could have affected others in her circle of acquaintance.

Linda

oOo

**Chapter 3**

CK sat on his bed and let the tears fall silently down his cheeks. He'd listened while the three were talking. He'd heard Smallville tell his mom about his life and now knew that the men were telling the truth. There was no explanation, either logical or illogical that he could think of which would account for his dreams being a reflection of what he'd heard. There had been a lot cut out, private moments that hadn't been shared, some that weren't private yet were important nonetheless but he had no doubt that if he asked for a word by word recount of Smallville's life and Clark's dreams, that both would match his.

While his mom was speaking he hadn't wanted to listen but had been helpless to do anything else. Hearing the words again, knowing it was true, drove the knife deep into his heart. Lois was dead; she'd been dead for 9 years. Yet every night when he slept she was alive and every morning when he woke up, he expected her to be there beside him.

He'd only started dreaming a little over four years ago. At first he'd thought that Jor-el was trying to force his hand, guilt him into doing the training as his dream self did. But he wanted nothing to do with being a Kryptonian. He was one by blood, not choice and he'd never embrace being a cold blooded alien who took lives just because he had the power to do so. He was already helping people when and if he could and would continue to do so but his way, not Jor-el's.

When Lois first entered the dreams he'd been furious. She was dead and should be given the respect of resting in peace. However, it hadn't taken long before he'd had to fight against the feelings that continued to bloom inside his heart for a woman that was long gone. He'd thought the reason she'd aged and matured in his dreams was because his mind was trying to protect him in some way by not keeping her a girl while he grew older. But if his dreams were the same as Clark's and it all represented Smallville's life...their life with Lois, then he wasn't some kind of sick pervert for dreaming about a dead woman, because she shouldn't be dead at all.

He'd tried so hard and so often to forget her, to banish her from his mind and heart but couldn't. He'd likewise tried to squash and stamp out the dreams and failed with every attempt. Lois' face, soft with love and happiness, awash with desire and cheeky with laughter, swam before his eyes every night when he slept and dwelt in his mind's eye when he was awake. He couldn't even count the number of women he'd bedded and used, all in a futile effort to eradicate both the dreams and fantasies of a life with Lois that he'd never experience. But every night whether he slept alone or not made no difference; she was there.

Whichever of his brothers had said it was right; he was hard and callous now. The boy he used to be bore little resemblance to the man he now was. The man he was in his dreams, was a far cry to the person he was in reality. Lois used to think he was a dork, a pain in the ass; she wouldn't call him that anymore. However by the same coin, if she was alive, she also wouldn't have anything to do with him. He wished that he could be like the Clark in his dreams but he'd lost that part of himself a long time ago.

He cared about people's lives but he didn't let them get close. He didn't date, when he used what little charm he had on a woman it was simply to get sex. He wasn't interested in their life story, what their name was or any other details; all he cared about was getting laid. As soon as it was over he dressed and left but on the nights that he didn't want to sleep alone, he'd take them back to whatever hotel he was staying at. When he awoke and saw the woman lying next to him wasn't Lois and remembered anew that it never would be, he ignored the churning in his gut and tried to obliterate her by using the woman for sex once again before kicking her out of bed, out the door and out of his life.

He'd never acknowledged it openly, to do so would make it real but he'd known for a long time that as he couldn't build a life with Lois, he wouldn't try with anyone else. It was her, or solitude. He was no longer afraid of isolation, he preferred it. The only fear he'd had for years was losing his mom. He knew it would happen one day but until then had declined from even thinking about it. However, he'd quietly comforted himself with the knowledge that he wouldn't really be alone; he'd still have Lois. All he had to do was go to sleep and she'd be there waiting for him.

Sighing deeply, he rubbed the heels of his hands hard against his eyes and cheeks, then swiped them on his jeans, before standing to walk over to the window. Lois would hate him now, she would hate the man he had become; he did too. Once upon a time he'd been so naive, so trusting and although he didn't want to be so gullibly artless again, neither did he want to be so cold.

That awful day when Chloe's dad called to tell her about Lois was still indelibly imprinted in his minds eyes. The shock in her eyes, the way she'd cried so piteously before dropping the phone and all but collapsing onto the couch. His mom hugging his friend in comfort, Lana quickly rushing over to rub Chloe's back, the look of fright on both their faces of what could be wrong and then picking up the phone and listening as Mr Sullivan told him of the tragedy that had befallen his niece. He'd hung up after a few minutes of stilted conversation, whispered to his mom and Lana what was wrong and saw their eyes fill, before Chloe pushed out of the arms embracing her to run upstairs and turn on his computer, almost biting her nails in agitation while waiting for it to power up.

They'd all followed and stood quietly behind her as she logged in and sure enough there it was. The accident hadn't been reported in the American news but within minutes of the event it was on the internet. Chloe had clicked frantically from one site to another, looked at the photos, shakily reading out a few words here and there, while her hand continued to slash at her cheeks, until finally his mom reached over and clasped the hand holding the mouse, tugging it away gently. That was when his friend broke down once again.

He'd never forget the look of devastation on Chloe's face, the horror he'd felt knowing Lois was dead so that he could live and the raging anger that burned in his heart at the injustice of a life cut short, long before her time.

It was hard to let go of his doubt, his anger and grief, he'd carried it around for so long it was almost like a second skin now. But he wanted to be the kind of man Lois would love, the kind his father would be proud off, and knew that he never would be as long as he allowed the bitterness and misery that sat in his belly like a hard ball to continue festering. His eyes closed when he heard two voices; Lois and his dad, telling him that the time for choosing was now. He could stay hidden away up in this room, or he could go downstairs, take a leap of faith and trust.

Bringing his father's face to the forefront of his mind, CK smiled shakily "I love you dad, I wish that you were here so I could say that to you again. Thank you for finding me, keeping and loving me." His dad's face faded away to be replaced by Lois' "Lo, god baby you know how I feel. In the dreams I've told you a hundred times but I've never dared say it out loud, so I'm saying it now; I love you. For years I've wished that when I died, that you would be there waiting for me. I have to believe we will be together one day." He swiped his hands over his eyes "Maybe we'll all be together again, I hope so but until then I'm going to make you both proud."

Turning he walked out the door and down the stairs to the kitchen. Seeing the two men crying in his mom's arms; the two that looked exactly like him, that he'd scornfully challenged a little over an hour ago made him ashamed. He still didn't trust or like any other Kryptonians but these men were different. Their genuine sorrow at their role in their dad's passing, the grief pouring out at hearing about Lois couldn't be faked. Kryptonians might be coldblooded, hard hearted bastards but not these men.

Moving silently, he took a seat at the table and waited. Several minutes later, when their heads lifted and their eyes sought his, he felt the tight band around his heart twist a little more at the anguish in their eyes "I'm sorry."

"For what?" Clark asked softly.

"For being so hateful earlier, for distrusting you, for everything; I'm just sorry" He shrugged sadly.

"Don't be, what happened to dad...I don't blame you for only wanting to protect mom..." Smallville looked at this twin, saw the truth in his eyes, then turned back to CK "We both understand why."

Martha grabbed the tissues, plucked out several and handed them to the men before leaving the box in the centre of the table and silently re-taking her seat.

"What happened to Lois?" Clark asked quietly.

"Can I first ask if it's really true? I was listening when you described your life to mom and it is what I've dreamt; is that really how our lives should be?" CK enquired softly.

"Yes." Smallville nodded fractionally "There shouldn't be three of us CK, there should only be one man; me. However, you and Clark are real too because in one way or another you're both a part of me. I don't know if you're an amalgamation of Clark and me, or if like him, you were torn out of me and he was affected by it because he was previously but ultimately we were all one man; so yes that was our life."

"You said Lana did this?"

"Yes."

He frowned slightly "But going by what you said, my life was changed 9 years ago by dad's death but both of yours were only changed 8 years ago by Clark's marriage; so shouldn't I now be the only one who exists?"

"Yes." Smallville replied simply "Logically you should be. I don't know why or how we're still here. Maybe because I'm from the original timeline, no matter what else changes, I can't be wiped out and by the same token neither can either of you since you're a part of me. So we'll all exist separately until everything's been put right but we'll survive just the same. Whatever the reason, I'm just thankful for it." At the frowns on all three faces, he shrugged unhappily "I'm not grateful for what's happened but if I had been wiped out totally by what Lana did the first time, then Clark's life would now be the real one. It would be wrong but he wouldn't know any different, regardless of whether he'd dreamt or not. If at some point he discovered the truth and she tried again, then your life would now be the real one. So I'm just thankful to still be here, despite everything we've all suffered." When all three nodded in accord, he pressed his lips together tightly, then sighed heavily "The spell Lana used was dicey at best; it had so many warnings attached to it that I'm amazed she even used it but maybe that's the one thing in our favour."

"It makes sense in a way, and yet at the same time it doesn't." Clark agreed in a quiet but grateful voice "Maybe Lana can change the past but the one thing she can't do is get rid of the original Clark who lived in the first timeline and us by extension."

"Even though logically I should be the original since my life was affected before either of yours time-wise, I'm not because this timeline isn't the real one. It was created by someone messing with the past." CK finished in a soft questioning tone.

"You are and you aren't." Smallville rubbed a hand around the back of his neck and sighed "You are the original because initially you lived the exact same life as me; we were one man. However, we were split when dad died and you're life diverged from mine. But this timeline shouldn't have happened and it wouldn't have, if Lana hadn't started messing about with the past in the first place."

"It's a chicken and egg scenario." Martha summed up neatly, causing all three men to nod disconsolately.

Smallville gave his mom and CK a quick rundown on the sequence of events, bringing them up to date to when he and Clark had woken up in the fortress earlier. "If Lana had reversed things then Clark and I would have been merged back together and everything would now be the way it should. However, when we woke up and were still separated but his apartment in the fortress was gone, we knew then that she'd tampered with the past again."

Martha shook her head slowly "And she did it just because she loved you and wanted you back?"

"Yes, I don't know why she went back to the day of the meteor shower; maybe because that was when we first got together she thought the odds of us staying together were better if we never broke up in the first place but..." Smallville trailed off unhappily and scrubbed his hands hard over his eyes before lifting them to CK "Can you tell us what happened to Lois?"

"It was a car accident. There were multiple witnesses and they all said the same thing. The light had turned green, the traffic had just started edging forward, Lois' car was third in line and some idiot coming from the opposite direction was driving way too fast, lost control of the wheel and just barrelled through the intersection. He rammed into the first car, hit another, then Lois' and then another car before being stopped by the guardrail." CK paused, and looked down at the table before looking at his brothers once again "Nine people were injured, some of them pretty badly but they all survived. Lois was the only casualty; she died on the way to the hospital."

"And her time of death coincided with yours by one minute?" Clark asked quietly.

CK nodded minutely "Yes but it wasn't a coincidence, it was meant to happen just as Jor-el said it would."

The two men nodded heavily.

"According to the witnesses, directly after the accident Lois seemed fine. She had minor injuries but was helping those who appeared to be a lot worse while waiting for the police and medical assistance to arrive, when suddenly she just collapsed. She was still alive when the ambulance came but didn't regain consciousness and then..." CK took a deep breath and smiled pathetically "By the time Chloe found out about Lois, she'd already been gone for over 24 hours."

"Why did it take so long for her to be told?" Clark asked softly.

"Lois was by herself at the time sweetie, so the authorities first had to track down her father and then wait for General Lane to fly in and identify his daughter." She rubbed her brow and sighed heavily "I remember how scared I felt when I heard that Clark had been shot, more so when I was told that he was gone but at least I was there. I imagine it was a whole lot worse for that poor man. Receiving a call that his daughter was dead would be bad enough but having to identify her must have broken his heart."

Smallville scrubbed his hands over his face once again before rubbing them on his thighs, then turned to his new brother "You said that you and Lana never got together, can you tell us why? I mean was it only because of dad or was there another reason?"

"It was that." CK replied simply "On the day of the meteor shower Lana told me that she loved me, I reciprocated but that was the beginning and end of our relationship." He raced over, grabbed a glass and returned to pour himself some water from the jug on the table "Afterwards I was still coming to grips with dad's murder, frightened that other Kryptonians would arrive and I wouldn't be able stop them if they tried to kill mom to get to me, so bothering with girlfriends wasn't a priority; not even if she was Lana. All my moaning and griping about wanting her to notice me just seemed so trivial in comparison y'know?" The men nodded silently "She came around often, told me that she loved me, that she wanted us to be together but for the first time in my life, I didn't care and couldn't have been less interested."

After taking a sip of water, he put the glass down, and stared hard into it before lifting his eyes again "Almost three months later I died, was brought back to life and my powers were restored. However, instead of feeling relieved, I was scared stiff that mom was going to be taken as recompense and then the next day we found out about Lois." He cleared his throat, and scrubbed his hands over his eyes before letting them fall heavily on the table "You have no idea how much I hated myself for that. I wanted my powers back but not at the expense of someone else's life. I didn't know why it was Lois; I just knew that she was dead so that I could live. Dad was dead because that woman was looking for me and now Lois was dead because of me."

"That's not true." Martha put in firmly and slipped her arm around her son's waist to hug him one armed "You were never ever responsible for your father honey and you didn't choose for Lois to die in your place." When he shook his head stubbornly, she lifted her free hand to his cheek and turned his face towards her "You didn't kill your father Clark, that woman did. I don't care if she was looking for you, or if she was Kryptonian like you; I never once thought you were responsible and I know that your father would say the same thing." When a tear slid down his cheek, she wiped it away but kept her eyes steady on his "If they had reached me before Lana came, I wouldn't have told them where you were either; not even if that meant they were going to kill me too."

For the first time in 9 years, the self hate that had shrouded his heart since he'd learnt of his father's death eased a fraction. The band unclenched a little more at the steadfast love in his mother's eyes. Although it would never ease completely, he was able to finally hear her words and believe.

CK swallowed back the hard ball in his throat "I know you never blamed me mom, I just hated myself for all of it. It just kept churning over and over in my head that if you and dad never found me, if I'd never come to this planet, never survived when Krypton exploded, then at least he and Lois would still be alive."

She shook her head minutely "The day that your father and I found you, was the happiest day of our lives after the day we found each other." She turned to her other two sons and smiled "All three of you are my sons and I couldn't love you more if I'd given birth to you myself. Your father loved you the same way, neither of us ever regretted finding you and I never will."

They all smiled at her tremulously and turning back to CK, she slipped her arm from around his waist and picked up his hand to squeeze with both of hers "You were only 18 honey and you were trying to cope with all the guilt that was never yours to begin with. It was a horrible thing that happened to Lois but you didn't choose for her to die. You didn't want anyone to die in your place, so I don't want to hear how you were responsible for it because you weren't."

He swallowed hard, and pressed his lips to her hair. Turning back to his brothers, he took up the tale once again in a voice scratchy with emotion "A week later Chloe packed up her things and left Smallville. She was supposed to be starting at MetU but instead went to live with her dad and transferred to a college that was close to where he lived. She stopped at the farm on her way out of town to say goodbye and asked me not to contact her..."

"She did blame you?" Clark interrupted sadly.

"No." He corrected shaking his head "She never blamed me, she blamed herself for telling me about getting that phone call."

"But if she hadn't told you then Smallville would have been blown up." Clark put in softly.

"Yes, but all she could think about was her cousin." CK smiled sparingly "Chloe told me that she'd been worried about my withdrawal but confessed that she'd also solicited my help in the hopes of getting me involved with life again. However, she hadn't counted on what happened taking place and said that if she'd just left me to grieve in my own way, then I wouldn't have been killed and Lois would still be alive."

"If she didn't blame you, then why did she ask you not to contact her?" Smallville asked low voiced.

"She was almost as crippled with guilt as I was. As you both know from your own experience, I'd been feeling bad about one thing or another for years but had still managed to be pretty happy all things considered. Mom and dad were the best, they helped, they were there for me to talk to but I still felt guilty about all the people who'd been hurt by my arrival." The men nodded, he paused and took a deep breath "With Lois' death, guilt was now something that Chloe and I had hideously in common. She said that she was sorry but I was just a painful reminder that she'd lost her cousin." CK rubbed his thigh absently, remembering the wretchedness on his friend's face the day that she'd left "She tried so hard to explain how bad she felt for dumping this on me, I even knew that she was being honest when she said that I wasn't to blame but it was almost like she couldn't bear to look at me anymore. So after she left, I respected her wishes and never contacted her."

"And Lana?"

CK let out a deep sigh and shrugged carelessly "After losing dad, Lois and Chloe either to or because of death, Lana wasn't even a blip on my radar." He picked up his water and sipped "I still cared about her but no longer had any patience for her drivel. I will say that she was a lot more understanding and not so difficult or petulant but whether that was real or feigned I don't know. Unlike before where I pushed my own feelings or problems aside to cater to hers, I no longer did. I'd grown up fast in three months, so her petty issues now seemed to be nothing more than a spoilt child's bid for attention and I just wasn't interested in playing."

"Did she try?"

"Once or twice, nothing overt but I didn't take the bait and it soon blew over." He let out a small huff of laughter that held no amusement "Looking back its funny; for years I was like a dog begging for any crumbs she threw my way but that was over with and now the tables were turned. Obviously my endless grovelling was the wrong way to win her over; it was my indifference that seemed to keep Lana's regard and it also did the trick with stopping her from being such a bitch."

"Clark." Martha admonished softly.

He turned and asked cordially "You saw how Lana was before and after that time mom; so what's your opinion?"

Martha cleared her throat softly, and noticed all three men were looking at her with interest "She was definitely less...demanding after."

"Yeah; I guess her most obvious attempt was to make me jealous but it didn't work. What did I care about some new guy in town that she was fluttering her eyelashes at?" He snorted softly.

"What guy?" The two men asked surprised; unable to recall anyone who could fit the description.

CK smiled half-heartedly "Arthur Curry, he said that everyone called him AC."

"Lana and AC?" Clark asked astonished.

"You know him?" They both nodded, he nodded in return "Well there was no Lana and AC. It was a long time ago but the impression I got was that there was no interest on either side. To be honest at the time I thought she was just trying it on to make me jealous but I've become pretty cynical, so she might not have been doing anything more than getting to know a guy who wasn't giving her the cold shoulder like I was. He seemed more concerned with talking about people's responsibility to the planet and protecting the oceans. I only met him once but he seemed nice enough."

Clark and Smallville both began to talk, then stopped, and gesturing for his twin to go ahead Clark inclined his head and informed CK and Martha about AC. When he was finished, mother and son looked at each other and shook their heads sadly "He was a good boy?" Martha asked softly.

"Yeah, AC's in the Justice League, he..." Breaking off, Smallville looked between them cautiously "What'd you mean by; he _**was**_ a good boy mom?"

CK hesitated for a moment before answering "His body was found a week later. The police didn't give any details but I went to the morgue and x-rayed through to see his body. He looked like he'd been decomposing for a lot longer than just a few days. Where his skin wasn't flaked off, it was wrinkled and dry. If I didn't know better, I'd swear it wasn't the same guy that I'd talked with less than a week before."

"God!" Clark choked out rubbing his fingers hard over his brow.

Smallville swore quietly under his breath before looking back up "It was Lex."

"What?" CK and Martha cried simultaneously.

Smallville filled his mom and twin in on what Lex had tried to do to AC, how he'd managed to save him and saw the shock register in both their faces.

CK rubbed his hand over the nape of his neck "The police thought he must have ticked off the wrong someone with his fervency for Greenpeace. They questioned everyone, especially those who'd interacted with him. I told them that when we were talking in the Talon he'd been quite passionate about the subject, so someone could have overheard us and got the wind up."

"Why did you go and look at him at the morgue CK?"

He flushed and grimaced lightly "When Lana mentioned there was a new guy in town I decided to scope him out. I knew he wasn't meteor infected since he hadn't lived in Smallville but I wanted to ensure that he wasn't Kryptonian. After I met him, I thought he seemed nice enough, overly enthusiastic but he didn't ring any warning bells, so as far as I was concerned that was the end of the matter. However, when I heard that his body was found a week later, I went to check it out. When I saw him I wondered if I'd been wrong about him being human or not but still felt sorry that someone whose only interest seemed to be in saving the planet had been killed." CK rubbed his hand hard over his face and sighed heavily "I should have been there to help him, I should have watched out for him but I didn't do anything."

"Sweetie..."

"No mom..." CK cut her off softly but firmly "...Lana could be a pain in the rear end but she wasn't so insensitive that she didn't understand why I didn't have time for her. I only went to meet him because he was new in town and I was mistrustful of anyone I didn't know. I should have been there for him but I was too busy wallowing to bother playing Lana's puppet over a guy that I _assumed,_ she was trying to make me jealous over." He finished unhappily.

Remembering their own mistakes in the past, their own apathy after their father's death, Smallville and Clark nodded sadly in agreement.

"So then what happened?"

CK exhaled heavily and shook his head "Nothing, everything was fine; well as fine as it could be under the circumstances but six months to the date of the meteor shower I left Smallville too. I just couldn't live here anymore." When he saw their eyes shift to his mom, his lips titled sadly "I begged mom to come with me but she's too stubborn and wouldn't. So I bought her a phone that only has my number already preset in it for emergencies. She promised to keep it on her at all times, so all she has to do is press one button and as soon as I hear the first ring, I'll come. Over the years I've practiced over and over and I've gotten faster. No matter where I am in the world, before the phone has completed its first ring, I'll be here."

"That's how you were able to get here so fast?" Smallville asked thoughtfully.

CK inclined his head.

"You know I had a hell of a time keeping up with you. I've always been fast and although you only got here a moment before me, I was somewhat winded but you weren't." He put in with a touch of embarrassment.

"Even if I only got here a moment before you sometimes that's enough; after all, it's only a moment between life and death, so any edge is better than none." He shrugged sketchily "As for the winded part; I had reason to practice to ensure that I got quicker, whereas you didn't."

Smallville nodded in agreement "Do you have the phone mom?"

Martha lifted up her sweater and showed them the phone that was clipped to her belt. They all nodded satisfied "I know my son still worries, so even though no other Kryptonians have come, I still wear it because I know it gives him peace."

CK smiled very slightly "I've tested her once in a while over the years by arriving out of the blue and she's never failed me yet."

When Smallville and Clark's lips lifted slightly, she nodded in confirmation "He has but I know he does it out of love so I don't yell."

Clark cleared his throat softly "Um, can I just ask; in our timeline Lois did arrive at the farm and helped dad to find you in the rubble and later she stopped that woman from killing him at the hospital. Why didn't she arrive in this time?"

"Was she hurt in your timeline?" Martha asked gently; the men shook their heads "She was hurt in ours. The doctor wanted her to stay in the Medical Centre for at least 24 hours but she refused. She came and stayed here with us, asked me what arrangements I wanted, organised everything and left two days after the funeral to find her sister."

The men frowned lightly and asked simultaneously "How was she hurt?"

"I don't know honeys, her car ran off the road and down an embankment but that's all she said." Martha sighed softly "She never said where it happened, how she got to the Medical Centre, or even that she'd intended coming here. To be honest, at the time I was just glad that she was alright, so didn't question her further."

Reaching over Smallville picked up her hand "You were grieving mom and Lois knew that."

She nodded slightly "She showed Clark and me so much care, that I just wish I could have done the same for her."

"Despite all his gruffness her dad loves her mom. He would have wanted to do what he could for his daughter." Clark put in quietly.

"I know sweetie."

"Where..." Smallville cleared his throat and asked softly "Where is she now?"

"She's buried beside her mom." CK answered in a like voice.

Smallville winced "Lo wanted to be cremated but unless there's a reason it's not the kind of thing a 19 year old would discuss with their parents, so her dad wouldn't have known." He paused and cleared his throat again "Getting back to what we were talking about before, Lo being hurt in the meteor shower interests me; I'd like to know how her car ran off the road."

"Why?"

"Because he thinks that Lana had a hand in it right?" Clark asked simply and wasn't surprised by his twins nod.

"But Lana couldn't have." Martha put in automatically.

"Not younger Lana who was 18 when we were mom but older Lana who I believe was there on the day of the meteor shower." Smallville put in softly, and Clark nodded in accord.

Martha and CK looked at each other, then at the men once again.

Smallville looked at his mom and CK, sipped some water and began "Here's what I think happened. Older Lana; Clark's wife I mean, went back to the day of the meteor shower. Why she picked then I don't know but she went. However, instead of just talking to her younger self like she did the last time, this time she either intended to kill Lois by running her car off the road, or she just wanted her out of the way so that instead of Lois saving dad, younger Lana would. However, young Lana never got to the hospital on time and older Lana should have known that she wouldn't. Either she'd intended to somehow get her younger self to the hospital and was prevented, or she thought that dad would somehow survive until young Lana got there. But by keeping Lois away, a chain of events started that she never could have predicted." He paused, took a deep breath and continued "Afterwards, CK had dad's murder and your safety on his mind, plus the fear of other Kryptonians coming while he was helpless; so he didn't have time for Lana at all. Shortly afterwards Lois died, Chloe left and all of that put even more guilt and stress on CK and in the end he left town too. So in the end Lana never got Clark Kent at all and that's what she wanted."

He looked at them both and saw the shock in their eyes "At the time I don't believe younger Lana knew what her older self had done but she knows it now. The Lana that exists now is a combination of the older one and the younger one; she's still the same person. Unlike us she's not split and I know that she was intending to pass the memories of her life with Clark onto herself. Those memories also include the life she lived when she married Lex and I was later engaged to Lois. She knew how to pass the memories onto herself, so I believe that right now she's aware of exactly who was responsible for her life not turning out as she wanted; herself."

"Yes." Clark nodded in accord "You never asked Lois how her car ran off the road but I bet it wasn't because she lost control of the wheel. I think somehow older Lana had a hand in Lo not getting here that day."

"She's the reason dad's dead?" CK asked crisply.

"It depends on how you look at it. The Kryptonian woman actually did it but by keeping Lois away then yes, ultimately Lana's responsible in this timeline. But we can't blame her for dad's passing in the original one; that was us." Smallville corrected regretfully.

CK swallowed hard, nodded once and looked down at the table.

Martha frowned and looked at her three sons "What I don't understand is why she wanted to save your dad." At their curiosity "What I mean is, before the meteor shower Clark...well I guess it would be all of you, thought that Lana was wonderful anyway. So what would her saving your father accomplish?"

Smallville shook his head helplessly "I can only guess mom and I'm only assuming that was one of her motives but Clark and I have both told Lana that our feelings for her when we were younger was puppy love. So she might have thought by saving dad, our feelings for her would be enriched with gratitude and therefore never fade." He shrugged half-heartedly "Clark and I have both told you about our lives both before and after we were split." They nodded silently "Well before we came here, we thought that Lana had gone back again but this time to advise her younger self to tell our younger self everything before eloping."

Clark smiled contritely "We really were expecting to find a third Clark whose life mirrored mine, the only difference being that when he married Lana, he was aware that he was changing the future and because of that now felt stuck and was living with regret. We understood because we knew that if we were given the opportunity to marry her back then we would have taken it too and we wouldn't have cared a damn that our future was being affected."

"Yes." Smallville supplied heavily "I can think of multiple things that Lana could have intended. One, she might have thought by going back and confessing everything, that our marriage would be happy because it didn't start off with deceit. Two, she had intended do just what I said but by accident ended up in the past on the day of the meteor shower and thought, 'hey what a great opportunity to either get rid of Lois or make myself in even shinier in Clark's eyes.' Or three, she deliberately went back to the day of the meteor shower for some reason because that was the start of our relationship."

Martha nodded and asked curiously "But the Lana that was here, the 18 year old girl I mean, she really didn't know that Jonathan shouldn't have died that day." The men both nodded "I'm glad, I would hate to think her sympathy at that time was false."

"It would have been real mom, I believe even if older Lana had been around her sympathy would have been real, hers just would have contained guilt as well." Clark replied low voiced.

"I agree; Lana would have been genuinely sorry mom, that's something I know for sure." Smallville echoed. She smiled lightly and patted both their hands.

"CK..." His head lifted at the call of his name "We can fix this." At the curiosity on both his mom and brothers faces "We have the book back at the fortress, J'onn found the spell Lana used and Dianna figured out how to make it work. So we can use it and go back too. We can go back to the day of the meteor shower and stop Lois from driving off the road and that will automatically bring us back to the timeline that we've just left; the one where Clark was married to Lana and we were waiting for her to reverse the spell to take us back to the original timeline. I don't know if everything will right itself straight away, or if it'll take a few minutes or hours but it will happen. You won't disappear but this timeline will cease and you'll be re-integrated with me. Once we're back in Clark's timeline, we can reverse the spell to take us back to my timeline, or wait for Lana to do it again." He picked up the glass of water and glugged it down "I'm not comfortable with that scenario because she was supposed to do it this time but instead went back to the meteor shower and made things even worse."

"You don't know it was her dear?"

"It was her." Smallville and Clark replied firmly together. Sighing deeply Smallville reached over and picked up his mom's hand "It was Lana mom, I have no proof but neither do I have any doubt."

She nodded uncertainly at the conviction in his voice. He squeezed her hand, let it go and continued "As I was saying, I'm not comfortable leaving the reversal up to Lana but if we do it then no one's going to remember. So if we take that option then we also need to find a way to keep our memory to ensure that she doesn't get the chance to try again."

Clark looked at them and advised gravely "We just have to be quick; Lana knew we had the book and she knew we had an expert looking into it. When Smallville turned up in my timeline, she figured out that we were the same man pretty quickly. So even though your life was changed 9 years ago and ours 8, we can't assume she thought there'd now only be one Clark. It's safer to believe that she was expecting Smallville and me to turn up one day and tell you everything."

CK frowned lightly, and turned to his mom "Do you know where Lana is mom?"

"No sweetie, she left Smallville not long after you did and never came back."

"We don't need her CK and it's also best if she has no warning that we're here or that you know the truth." Smallville put in gently, and waited for the accompanying nod "So we can use the spell and go back to the day of the meteor shower and after you're merged back with me, Clark and I should find ourselves back in the fortress, waiting for Lana to reverse the spell she did which caused us to be split." He breathed out a soft sigh "The only problem is that I don't know if being merged back together will hurt or not but if it doesn't then we'll have time to stop Lana from messing about with the past again. Everyone except for Lois was at the farm when I left and we can move fast. So one of us can go to the house to prevent Lana from doing anything, the other can go to the farm to get J'onn and Diana and take them to Clark's house. With Diana's rope around her, or with J'onn reading her mind, Lana won't be able to lie and pretend that she's going to reverse the spell but is really intending to jump into the past once again."

"And if the merging does hurt?" CK asked frankly.

"If it hurts, we're screwed." Clark replied bluntly.

Smallville nodded unhappily "Unfortunately being separated hurts big time. Clark didn't feel it when he was torn out of me but I did. Both of us felt it this time but I'm guessing that you didn't?" CK shook his head "So we don't know if integration hurts or not but the amount of pain seems to depend on how long we're unconscious for. Even though it hurt like hell the first time, I don't think I was out for long. This time the pain seemed to have claws and we were both out for over 12 hours. So I guess it depends on how long we're unconscious afterwards, as to whether Lana will have time to use the spell again."

Martha frowned lightly "But would she try again when she's tried twice and failed."

"I'd like to think not mom but if Lana's canny enough and I think she is, then she'll make sure that she has the memories of this timeline as well so that she doesn't mess up again; I don't trust her." Smallville replied bluntly.

She smiled sadly and patted his hand.

"Anyway, that's where we stand now." He summed up.

"I say we use the book and go back to the day of the meteor shower." Clark put in quickly "I know it's a risk but yesterday I thought things couldn't have been any worse than when Lois said that she didn't love me even though she'd dreamt of our life. Then today I find out how wrong I was when mom told us that she was dead."

"Yes." Smallville put in softly before looking at his new brother "This timeline is even worse than Clark's one. Losing Lois used to be the scariest thing I could imagine, finding out that she's gone feels like I'm in a waking nightmare." He took a deep breath and let it out softly "And I don't mean to be hurtful but with everything that's happened you're..."

"Harder, colder." CK supplied calmly and at both the men's nods, nodded as well "I am and since I'm from you, I imagine it's not easy seeing how you could have turned out under the same circumstances." He shrugged casually but the sadness in his eyes couldn't be missed "I was thinking before that Lois would hate the way I am now and I know dad would be disappointed in me as well."

"He would not!" Martha fired up "You're dad would hurt for you because he'd understand that being thrown so much at such a young age, had made you less trusting and more cautious when it came other Kryptonians but he would never be disappointed in you."

CK's lips curved at the edges "This woman has always been our biggest champion."

The men nodded in unity, Martha flushed and sniffed "And why wouldn't I be, my son was always a good boy."

Shaking his head lightly and thanking god his mom didn't know about his personal life, CK knew that his dad would be disappointed but was unwilling to press the point and hurt his mother for no reason. Turning to his brothers he took a deep breath "I want Lois to be alive..."

"You're in with love her." Clark stated with absolute assurance.

Martha looked at her son and saw him nod "The dreams sweetie?"

CK looked at her and bobbed his head "Yeah, they were so real mom that quite often I'd wake up expecting my life to be that way. It only took a moment to remember it wasn't and it hurt like hell to know it never could be, so I tried to abolish them any way I could."

She didn't want to know what he'd done but had a fair idea, so just patted his hand comfortingly "Then we have to do something."

"I want to but I can't bear the thought that I'll be responsible for dad's death." He finished low voiced.

Both men nodded in understanding, but it was Clark who answered "We know CK, believe me if we could undo that we would but we can't. That was done a long time ago and we have no right to mess with that day again."

"What makes that different to saving Lois?"

"Lois should be alive now. Her death was an event that shouldn't have happened, anymore than dads but he died long before Lana started mucking around with our lives. Jor-el said we can't tamper with the past, not even for noble reasons because it's something that's now gone." Smallville swallowed hard "Lo's death is the result of someone going into the past and changing history. Dad's was a choice that I made in a moment of stupidity a long time ago but it's done and can't be taken back."

CK nodded minutely "So what'd we do?"

"We need to retrieve the book from the fortress, get the stuff to make the spell work and then do it. We're all fast so it shouldn't take us long to get everything together but we can't make the jump from here. We don't know where we're going to end up in the past but if we do it from this house and end up in this house then we take the risk of someone seeing us." Smallville paused and thought for a moment "We can do it from the barn or go somewhere else but the jump isn't an exact science so we could end up in the past anywhere from days, weeks or months before the meteor shower happened."

"If that's the case honey, then Lana might have gone back to that day by accident."

"That might have been an accident mom but running Lois off the road wasn't." Clark put in gently.

She nodded slightly "Are you sure that she did?"

Understanding that his mom didn't want to condemn Lana without proof, Smallville smiled slightly "If she didn't then I guess we'll find out soon enough. But at least if we stop Lo's car from going down the embankment, then she can come here to help dad get you out of the rubble, before taking you both to the Medical Centre."

Martha nodded "Ok, so one of you go and get the book, then the three of you can go and buy the stuff, and then we can all go to the past." She paused for a beat "I'd better take my purse because if we're there beforehand we'll need money." She stopped and frowned "That won't work because it's nine years ago so we need money from 2006 not now..."

While she continued to ruminate, the men shared one swift look of unity, then began rolling their eyes and gesturing to each other to talk. Giving in, CK cleared his throat softly "Mom..." When she looked up vaguely "You're not coming."

"What? Of course I'm going." When the men all shook their heads, a militant light sparked in her eyes "I'm going and none of you are stopping me."

"You're not coming." Smallville pronounced, and when her eyes turned and narrowed on him, he shrugged uneasily "But your idea of getting some money from before 2006 is good."

"Are you telling me that I have to stay behind?" Martha demanded incredulous.

"You won't even notice that we're gone mom. We'll go and ensure that Lois gets to the house to help dad and just by doing that it shouldn't be long before the timeline's reset." Clark put in apologetically.

She looked at all three and stood "Powers or not, I smacked your bottom when you were younger and..."

CK stood and hugged her tight "And we love you for it; we just love you mom, so please stay here where it's safe."

She sighed heavily and hugged him back "Ok but only under protest."

Pressing his lips against the top of her head, he nodded "Thank you."

"Thanks mom." Smallville and Clark put in simultaneously.

She looked at her three boys and shook her head "You just promise to take care of yourselves too."

They all nodded, and pushing back their chairs Smallville and Clark stood "Ok, so Clark and I will get the book and then fly around buying the stuff we need. CK do you have any money?" At his nod "Can you go and get some specifically from 2006 or before. It doesn't matter if the bank asks questions, because we'll be gone soon, so make up any reason to fob them off but it is a good idea to have some in case we need it." He turned to his mother and smiled "Um mom, would you mind if we borrow a bowl or two. We need something to mix the stuff in."

"I'll have something ready for when you get back sweetie." Martha's brow wrinkled "Would a wooden spoon be alright for mixing? The only other thing I have is an electric beater but..."

"A wooden spoon's fine mom, we don't need anything heavier since we've got our own strength." Clark put in with a smile.

"Ok, so let's go and we'll meet back here after getting everything, agreed?"

Everyone nodded then all three men zoomed out of the house.

oOo

After retrieving the book and purchasing all that was needed Smallville turned to Clark "I just have to go somewhere, so I'll meet you back at the farm soon ok?"

"I wanna see Lois too Smallville." He returned softly.

The two men shared one pain filled look before checking that it was all clear and taking off. They landed in the cemetery, walked to the place where they knew Lois' mom was buried and stopped.

At the sight of the headstone that marked their beloveds resting place, tears filled their eyes. Crouching down, Clark carefully began to pluck away the few overgrown weeds at the base, while Smallville traced Lois' name with his fingertip.

"She was only 19." He whispered softly.

"I know." Clark nodded lightly and lifted blurred eyes to the headstone "It was always meant to be her wasn't it?"

Smallville nodded lightly "Yes; when mom told us about Lois that's when I knew."

"So did I." He replied, swiping his hand over his eyes "I don't dwell on that day but I've never forgotten."

"Neither have I. But as soon as mom mentioned it, everything that happened that day flashed through my mind and that's when I remembered..." Smallville broke off and smiled sadly "After we reversed the day, we saved Lo from being electrocuted but as she didn't die the first time around, it could only mean that someone else must have saved her."

"But she was alright the first time, she gave everyone the news of dad's victory and..." Clark paused before continuing quietly "You mean someone stopped Lo falling and knocking herself unconscious the first time and that's why she was ok?"

"Yes, the only person we knew that was hurt the first time was Lana but we don't know what did, might or could have happened to Lois." Smallville sighed heavily and rubbed the back of his neck "If she'd been hurt the first time, we would have heard that she'd banged her head and it was serious enough that she was taken to the hospital. However, as that never happened, it could only mean that someone prevented her from falling. What's ironic is that as there was no talk of Lois almost having a nasty accident, neither she nor the unknown person thought it was significant enough to be mentioned and yet it was actually the most noteworthy thing to happen that day."

"Yeah, we assumed Lana was the one who'd been earmarked to die in our place because she was our number one priority but in actual fact, she _made_ herself be the one to die by leaving the party and subsequently having that car accident. However, when we reversed the day we saved Lois before we saved Lana; which means that Lo was the one who meant to pay the price for us." Clark summed up quietly.

"Yes and as Lana wasn't CK's priority in this timeline, Lois did pay it." Smallville put in low voiced "In ours, Lana inadvertently saved Lois' life by going to see to Lex and crashing her car afterwards, otherwise we wouldn't have known anything was wrong with Lo the second time. And whoever stopped Lo from falling the first time clearly wasn't around to save her the second time, which is why she was lying on the floor when we found her." He concluded and raked his hands through this hair "We only saved Lois by a fluke. The real ones who saved her was the unknown person and Lana, both of which happened the first time."

"Yeah." Clark's lips crooked sadly "If the unknown person hadn't stopped Lois from falling the first time, she wouldn't have come out to give the news of dad winning the election because she would have been unconscious on the floor upstairs. So consequently she would have been electrocuted since we wouldn't have known that anything was wrong. It was _only_ because we knew what happened the first time, that we were we able to save Lo literally in the nick of time after reversing the day and that was a good 40 minutes or so before Lana crashed into the bus." He stopped and scrubbed his hands over his face.

"Exactly..." Smallville nodded and continued with the sequence of events "...remember, Lana was talking to Chloe, then she gave us a filthy look and walked off to talk to someone. Chloe came over and talked to us, dad heard that he'd won the election on the TV, that's when we realised something was wrong with Lois and raced upstairs and saved her. Now all of that happened within two or three minutes at most, we can push it to five but it wouldn't be any more than that." Clark bobbed his head minutely in agreement "So we called and waited for the paramedics to come, waited while they checked Lois over and it was while they were loading her into the ambulance, that Chloe told us Lana was missing. So Lana had time to drive to Lex's house, time to wait for the maid to open the door and escort her where ever he was in the mansion, time to talk and argue with him and then time to run out, jump into her car and drive back towards town and she had time to do all of that AFTER Lois almost died."

He paused and took a deep breath "Also as you know, Lo takes hours to have a shower and get ready for an occasion. Well when she gave the news of dad's victory she was all dressed up but when we found her on the floor the second time she was just wearing casual gear; jeans and top, hair in its usual ponytail and only her bare essential makeup on which she wears around the house. So unlike Lana, who's first accident and almost second accident happened on the spur of the moment because she left the party to seek out Lex and ended up arguing with him, Lois was all set up to die since she must have been lying on the floor for hours beforehand since she never had the time to even get ready for the party." He sighed and concluded heavily "Lana wasn't even close to being the person who was meant to die that day, it was always Lois and we would have figured it out years ago, if we'd just taken five seconds out of our, 'Lana is the centre of the universe focus time', and thought about it."

Clark swallowed hard and nodded "You know after dad I never gave any thought to why Lois had nearly died. At the time I was surprised because although Lo was a friend, I would have put Lana, our parents and Chloe above her in the pecking order. But then dad died shortly afterwards and I just never thought about it again."

"We were distracted by Lana so were ignorant of the truth but our hearts knew it even if we didn't." Smallville murmured in a choked voice before coughing gently "Whereas CK had a lot more important things on his mind than caring whether Lana was happy with him or trying to hold onto her. He thought it was going to be mom but it was Lois and just like us he didn't even love her then." He pressed his lips together and smiled unhappily "I'll always regret losing dad because of my own selfishness but knowing now that it was meant to be Lois scares me. If she had died the first time, I would have been sorry but I wouldn't have turned back the day. I would have lost her long before I realised just how much I needed her. My life would have been desolate and I wouldn't have known why." He finished and swiped his hand over his cheeks.

Clark scrubbed his hands over his own face before dropping them heavily with a sigh "When mom and CK told us about him losing and regaining his powers, do you know what made me really ashamed about that time?"

"I have a good idea."

"I'd been told about that woman almost killing dad but I was just happy not to have powers so I could be with Lana, it never even entered my head that other Kryptonians could come." He rubbed the back of his neck and shook his head in disbelief "They didn't but at the time I didn't know they wouldn't. You'd think after everything that had gone on for years before and after learning what happened that day, that I would have been a little concerned about others coming, maybe killing mom and dad to get to me but as usual it was all about me and getting what I wanted...Lana."

"Yeah and then it just gets worse doesn't it?" Smallville continued unhappily "After Jor-el told me someone's life was going to be exchanged for mine, I told Chloe that I thought I'd made a mistake; can you believe it?" He asked rhetorically, letting out a harsh laugh that contained no amusement "I actually said I _**think**_ I've made a mistake. Not that I KNEW that I'd made a mistake. Not that I KNEW that I'd screwed up royally, but I think. I might as well have said 'hey Chloe someone's going to die because I was a selfish prick but yeah tough break huh?" He scrubbed his hands through his hair and tugged hard "I was more concerned that I was going to be lying to Lana again; god I was an asshole."

Clark nodded soberly "Yeah well as you pointed out before, our self-interest knew no bounds back then. I wish that wasn't true; I'd give everything I own and more to change the person I was back then but I can't. I'm just grateful for the people who love us despite all our fuck-ups."

Smallville let out a harsh sigh and nodded once in accord "I don't know how many times Lois has told me that I have to let past mistakes go, or they'd end up ruining my life and she's right. It can't be changed, so we just have to live with it and use it to become a better person now." His eyes turned back to the headstone "We have to go but can I just have a minute alone."

Clark patted his twin on the shoulder and rose to his feet "Yeah, I'll take one after you ok?"

Smallville bobbed his head and once his twin was out of normal hearing range, traced his fingers over Lois' name once again. His voice came out soft and husky, he had to clear his throat several times before finishing but didn't bother wiping away the tears sliding down his cheeks "I'm not letting you go Lo because you shouldn't be here, you should be with me. So we're going to make this right. I know now it was meant to be you that day but I thank god that it wasn't because I can't be without you. I'll see you soon baby?" He pressed his fingertips to his lips, pressed them to the headstone and got to his feet "I love you Lois."

Turning, he raced to where Clark was then waited while his twin said a few words before the two men left and returned to the farm.

oOo

The men got back to the farm to find CK had returned and was waiting patiently for them and their mom had a small bag packed ready for them.

"I've put a few bowls of different sizes in here, a couple of mixing spoons and just in case you need it I also packed you each a spare shirt and underwear." She looked at her three boys to find they were all smiling at her "Underwear is important."

"We know, thanks mom." Clark replied on behalf of them all.

"Honey's are you sure that you don't want me to come?" Martha looked between her sons and at their combined headshakes sighed softly "Please be careful."

"We will mom, we're not going to interact with anyone, we're just going to stop Lo from running off the road and ensuring that she gets to the farm. Hopefully everything will right itself immediately after that but as we'll be in the past, you shouldn't even be aware that we're gone at all." Smallville told her with a soft smile.

She frowned and cocked her head "Do you think it will work like that?"

"I don't know but if it doesn't then don't be surprised to find Diana and J'onn on your doorstep." He replied with a wry smile.

"If I do, should I tell them what you're doing?"

Clark and Smallville nodded, but it was Clark who replied "You can trust them mom, they're good guys."

"Ok." She blew out a deep breath before pulling each of her sons into a tight hug and telling them "I love you sweetie."

"I love you too mom." Each man told her softly.

After stepping out the door, the men walked down the stairs and looked back to find their mother watching them from the window. She waved, they waved back and turning headed for the barn.

oOo

"Smallville, you said this wasn't an exact science right?" He nodded, and CK waved his hand to the stairs leading up to the loft "Well don't forget on the day of the meteor shower, Lois and I was talking in the loft before leaving for the graduation ceremony. So if we don't want anyone to see us, then we shouldn't take the chance of doing it in here."

"He's right. Let's face it we spent most of our life in this barn; or more precisely up in the loft. So even if we end up in the past way before the meteor shower happened, someone's bound to see us." Clark scratched his head "And that someone will more than likely be our younger self and I'm sure you both remember how suspicious we were about everything."

"Ok, so where should we go?"

"Why don't we just go into the back field, it's unlikely that anyone will see us there." CK suggested with quick look at the two.

The men agreed and seeing they were ready to zip off, Smallville quickly held up a hand to stay their movement "Guys look, I know when the meteor shower hits we're all going to be tempted to help people left, right and centre but we can't. The only thing we can do is stop Lois from running of the road, since that's not what happened in the real timeline ok?"

"But..."

"Surely if we see someone that really needs help, it's not going to hurt anything if we help them?" Clark asked softly.

Smallville swiped a hand down his face and shrugged unhappily in return "We don't know that. We don't know how changing anything else will affect the timeline. Before coming here and meeting CK, I never even thought about what could have happened if Lois hadn't been there that day and yet now we know." He smiled crookedly at his brothers "I'm sure you both remember how mistrustful and antagonistic we were about anything Kryptonian from the day dad told us that we weren't human." The two men grimaced but acknowledged the point all the same "Ok, well because dad was murdered by a Kryptonian, CK turned his back on his heritage and he also had far more important things on his mind than trying to hold onto Lana, so consequently it was Lois who died. Chloe lost her cousin, General and Lucy Lane lost a daughter and sister respectively and all those people who could have been saved by Superman haven't been because he wasn't around. Likewise if Lois had been around, AC would have been hitting on her, CK would have felt protective and suspicious enough to watch him and subsequently AC would also still be alive now. However, that didn't happen so all the people that he's helped and the marine life that he's saved has also died. More than likely there are other things we haven't even thought off and it was all just because Lois wasn't at the Medical Centre to save dad that day." He looked at his two brothers and shook his head "We just can't take the risk of doing anything that could have far worse ramifications than we can even think off. So as hard as it is, just focus on getting Lois to the farm, ok?"

CK nodded firmly; Clark did likewise, and after sharing a look of solidarity the men raced to the field.

While Smallville and CK made a small clearing, Clark read and memorised the directions of the spell fastidiously to ensure no mistakes were made and once everything was prepared carefully, the surplus ingredients and book were stored in the bag "Are you ready?" Clark asked quietly.

The two nodded.

"Ok, then here goes."

He recited the words, they all quickly closed their eyes at the disorder they felt and within moments they were gone.


	4. Chapter 4

Hi everyone, I hope you all enjoy this chapter.

Linda

oOo**  
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**Chapter 4**

Lana Lang had waited patiently for the past to be undone. Years ago, after passing on the memories to herself, she truly had intended to reverse the spell to reset the past and consequently merge Smallville and her husband back together. But while looking at and touching all the bottles and vials that could make most anything happen, she'd thought that if only she'd been honest with Clark right from the beginning, her husband never would have turned from her.

That germ of an idea had grown and flourished, until that was what she decided to do; go back again, but this time tell both her younger self and Clark everything. Hold back nothing, not her marriage to Lex, his love for Lois in the future, his life as Superman, and finally their marriage and its subsequent failure. She'd let him know that she wouldn't ever hold him back from being Superman, would let him know how sorry she was for doing it previously, and then explain that if he married young Lana, his life would change but only because he'd be with her instead of Lois.

The choice would be his, this time he would be in control of his destiny, and should he decide that he couldn't or didn't want to marry her younger self knowing all of the facts, she would have accepted his decision. She'd be hurt, devastated, but would also finally admit defeat. Afterwards she'd return to her time, reverse the spell merging the two men back together, and then just wait for Clark to one day get over Lois in his own time, without any help from her. Even if he turned away, she would have tried, but not even trying had seemed so defeatist. Unfortunately when she did the spell and found that she'd arrived on the day of the meteor shower, her plan of action changed, and that had been the beginning of the end.

Her arrival on that day had been her first mistake; she'd compounded it further by trying to get rid of her nemesis. Clark's words to her that not even separation could stop him from loving Lois had pounded in her head, and ripped through her heart until she couldn't see straight. She'd thought that if only Lois was out of the picture, then his words would never be true; after all how could anyone love a dead woman?

Since the meteor shower happened long before she was engaged to Lex, and subsequently the time when Lois was unconscious in the Medical Centre, she'd erroneously thought that she was home free. It only seemed logical that the men would be merged back together, and the Clark that was left wouldn't have any memories of the former timelines, or of his love for Lois. How could he dream about a relationship with Lois, if it had never happened in the first place?

If she had just waited until her younger self was alone recovering in the Medical Centre, she could have talked to her, told her everything about Clark, then when he broke up with her, she would have understood why. That would have stopped her from taking up with Lex, and her break up with Clark would only have been for a short duration before they were back together again. He would have seen that she loved him enough to wait for him, and without the spectre of Lex between them, his feelings for her wouldn't have died, and fixed on Lois instead.

But rather than doing nothing, just turning around and going back to her own time, or waiting to talk to her younger self alone, she'd acted rashly, and subsequently messed up so badly, that it was far too late to try and rectify anything once the damage was done.

When she arrived in the past and found it was graduation day, she remembered that despite all the stress and frights that she'd had one after another, beginning with the death of Genevieve Teague the night before, and culminating in angering the Kryptonians when they thought that she'd tried to trick them, this was the day her heart finally found a home with Clark Kent, and his had found one with her. Lois by comparison had been less than nothing to him. So if the woman died during the meteor shower, she would just be another casualty and although Clark would be sorry, he wouldn't miss her, and that thought had spurred her into action.

Knowing that very soon the only thing on everyone's mind would be the meteor shower, and not a woman who looked somewhat familiar, she hitched a ride to town and waited for the chance to sneak into the Talon to steal a headscarf and a pair of sunglasses. After that she just had to wait for the panic to start with the meteor shower, and once it did appropriating a car from Mr Jenkins hire place while all the kerfuffle that was going on was child's play. The only dicey part was ensuring that Clark, his parents, Chloe or Lois didn't see her, but since she was driving an unfamiliar car, not to mention wearing the headscarf and the sunglasses, she managed to go undetected and was easily able to stay well under everyone's radar while keeping the other woman in her sights at all times.

After driving Lois off the road and down into a steep gully, she'd driven like a bat out of hell to pick her younger self up so that she could tell her about Clark and warn her not to let him push her away; but in her haste took a corner too fast and likewise ran off the road herself. That was the end of her grand plan, the car was a wreck, and she was in no condition to be hurrying. By the time she actually made it to the hospital, Mr Kent was dead and Clark had already left for the Luthor mansion to confront the visitors.

She hadn't even stopped to think about that day, to remember it was Lois who'd saved Mr Kent previously. While she was recuperating in the Medical Centre after everything was over, she and Clark had talked about what happened but only in passing. At the time they'd both just been grateful that neither had been hurt unduly, then he'd sweetly brought the conversation around to their declarations of love earlier in the day, and she had been more than willing to follow his lead.

That piece of forgetfulness had cost her everything. She had been so focused on just getting rid of Lois that she hadn't even thought about the woman being there to save Mr Kent. By the time she arrived at the hospital her younger self was with Clark at the mansion, and there would be no opportunity to speak to her privately once he brought her to the Medical Centre. First she'd be surrounded by the nursing staff, then afterwards Chloe and later Clark.

Besides, what could she tell her? That jealousy had caused her to be narrow-minded and hasty, that she might have ruined her life? There was nothing she could tell her younger self that she would understand then, and wouldn't discover one day when the memory of everything that happened came back to her.

She'd returned to her time knowing that her actions had changed everything again, but was unaware of what the consequences would be. By then it was far too late to reverse the spell merging the men back together. The only thing she could do was pass the memory of what she'd done onto herself in the hope that the aftermath wouldn't be too bad, and pray that she could somehow find a way to rectify everything if it was.

So she'd climbed into bed, clasped Clark's wedding ring tight in her hand and slept. When she woke up, everything was changed, and she discovered just how bad things had become after that day.

When she was 18 she didn't know why Clark insisted on taking the blame for his father's death onto his own shoulders, why he turned her away, or why he'd tried to push her and Chloe out of his life, but as she grew older, and the memories of the past timelines, and the knowledge of his origins was revealed to her, she understood at last.

As she hadn't spoken to her younger self that day, and the memories of her former timelines hadn't started to leak through, at the time she didn't know the why of anything. So when Clark became reticent and insisted on pushing her away, she didn't understand why. Losing his father, Lois and Chloe must have hurt, but his pushing her away hurt as well. So she'd pushed back hoping that would be enough to bring him to her as it had in the past, but instead of trying to make amends, he hadn't cared. Not wanting to lose him before they'd even had a chance to be together, she'd gone to him to make peace, she'd sought him out many times, and then one day she'd gone to the Kent farm only to be told that Clark was gone. He'd left Smallville and hadn't even cared enough to tell her.

Finally deciding that she was better off without him, she'd packed her things and went to France. Clark's indifference, his callousness had hurt. She'd put herself out there for him time and again, had made herself vulnerable to him, had tried to be there for him, had shown him how much she cared for six solid months, but now she'd had enough. If he could cut her out of his life with so little regard, then she could do the same to him.

She hardened her heart against him for almost two years, and then the memories of her life when she married Lex, and of when she married Clark starting coming back to her. With each new revelation she remembered one thing after another after another, until the picture was complete, and she had the whole puzzle. She'd lost Clark not because he didn't care, but because he couldn't. She understood then that his father's death at the hands of the aliens had hurt him unbearably, and then she was finally able to appreciate just how consumed with guilt he must have felt even though he wasn't responsible. Lois dying shortly afterwards, followed by Chloe leaving town a week later had hit him hard again and again when he was already so low, and by then he had nothing left to give to her.

For so long she'd thought that Clark's declaration of love on the day of the meteor shower had been a lie, but with her memories she knew just how wrong she'd been. He had loved her, and they would have been together, but she'd lost him through her own actions.

By preventing Lois from being there to save Mr Kent, the subsequent guilt of his father's murder had caused Clark to shut down, close himself off, and refuse to let anyone close; including her.

She'd cried bitterly over that. She'd been so fiercely jealous of her husband's love for Lois, of Smallville's love for the woman when he was engaged to her, that she'd acted impulsively, and hurt Clark in a way that couldn't be repaired. The only thing she'd accomplished was to make the man she loved blame himself for his father's murder, when he was never at fault.

The only positive out of the whole mess, was that she had the time to think about her actions, the past timelines and most importantly to get a better understanding of the spell itself. Since she knew the words by heart, she was able to record it, and to spend time studying it, and this was exactly what she did.

The first time she'd used the spell, she'd had some magical ability, and although she hadn't understood all the ramifications of the spell, she'd used it in desperation when Clark told her goodbye. The second time she'd had no magical ability, no understanding but had once again used the spell in the hopes of finding salvation in Clark's arms through confession. This time she'd had years to decipher the spell; every sentence, nuance, and word was examined from all angles in the hope that she could somehow put right, what she'd done wrong before.

So many times she'd been tempted to just use the spell to go back and stop herself from running Lois off the road on the day of the meteor shower, but ultimately she hadn't been willing to take the chance of possibly making things even worse. So she'd kept on doggedly analysing the spell, and was grateful that for once she hadn't acted without forethought.

On the day when she finally made a breakthrough, and understood that her actions had created a new timeline, but hadn't completely extinguished the old, she'd felt like it was the first time in years that she was able to breathe deeply. Although the world was changed, Smallville and Clark would still exist. Since Smallville was the original Clark he wouldn't disappear, her husband was a part of him so he wouldn't either, and now there would be a third Clark as well.

Her husband and his twin had the magic book, Clark had told her they had an expert looking through it, and further that they were going to reverse the spell without her aid if need be. So when they found it, and she knew they wouldn't give up until they did, they would find not only how to reverse the spell, but how to make it work in the first place. And one thing she knew without doubt was that her husband and his twin would someday arrive, and they'd know that somehow Lois not being there to stop his dad's murder, had led in turn to her own death. However, unlike the last time, this time she wasn't afraid. This time she wanted the men to come. When they arrived and discovered the changes in this timeline, they would strive to rectify it by going back to the past to sort out the mess that she'd mistakenly created.

They would go back to save Lois, to save their dad because they'd know that would be the only way to undo everything. So she'd waited patiently while the years had passed for the timeline to be reset, and she was ready.

Since the time between her marriage to Clark until when Smallville arrived in their timeline was 8 years, and the meteor shower had been a little more than a year before that, she'd had an approximate timeframe for when the men should arrive.

When the timeline was reset, the third Clark would disappear, and she would once again be back in the house that she'd shared with her husband ready to use the spell. However, this time she had an edge. As she'd had years to perfect everything, she'd taken measures so the knowledge of how she'd previously ended up in the wrong time, and what she had to do to ensure the circle of failure was finally broken, was passed onto herself. No matter how fast the men were, they wouldn't be fast enough to stop her, because she was ready. She'd been ready for years, and the next time she would do exactly as she'd planned, as the spell demanded if it was to work successfully; no deviations.

She would go to the past, to the time when Lois was in the medical centre, and this time she would tell young Lana and Clark everything.

If he still loved her younger self afterwards, still wanted to build a life with her regardless of all the mistakes she'd made for love, and with the full knowledge that his future would be with her instead of Lois then ALL the timelines would come back into alignment. Clark and Smallville would be merged back together, and the Clark that was left would be the only one that existed. He would know that her love was true, that all her trust was in him, and consequently his love for her wouldn't waver or shift to Lois because of deception on her part.

If he turned her younger self away, didn't want to take the chance of upsetting the future, she would let him go. She would finally give up, because then she would at last accept that it wasn't Lois, Lex, magic or anything else that had come between them, but simply a lack of love.

It was duplicity that had caused her downfall time and again, it was deceit that had cost her everything, but it was the truth that was going to set her free one way or another, and come what may, she was ready for it.

oOo

_2006 _

When the world stilled the men opened their eyes and looked around, but couldn't see that anything was different. The clearing they'd made was gone, but otherwise the air around them was calm and still.

Zooming his vision around, Smallville swept the farmhouse and barn, the outlying fields and found all empty. "Ok, no one's in the house or barn, and since we first need to ensure that we're in the right time, let's go find out."

They zipped to the house, CK picked up the Daily Planet, and the local Smallville rag, gave both a quick look through and nodded "Both papers have the right date."

Smallville scooted upstairs, before zipping back to the kitchen "The calendar's also showing the right date so we're good."

Clark looked at the clock "According to the time we've still got about 30 minutes before the shower hits."

Taking seats at the island the men looked around "So what now?"

"Now we wait, it'll take us less than a minute to get to the school but we need to discuss what we're gonna do."

"I thought we already decided that?" CK asked frowning.

"We have but..." Shifting his gaze to his other brother Smallville posed a suggestion "Clark, I told you what J'onn said; that Lana was going to pass the memories of being married to you onto herself so that she wouldn't try again right?"

"Yeah." He replied cynically.

"Ok, so she must have done that before going to the past to create this timeline, correct?" He nodded and shrugged signifying agreement "So when this timeline is reset, we'll once again be waiting in the fortress for her to reverse the spell. But I don't think we should wait for her to do it. Even if we don't remember that you were married to her, she'll remember it. And since J'onn told us that Lana decided her only recourse was to wait for us to get over Lois, or we'd never realise that she was the one; hopefully that will be enough to stop her from trying again."

"Do you think it will; it wasn't enough when she tried this time." Clark asked hesitantly.

"I know but what'd you wanna bet that she's been kicking herself for stuffing up so badly, that she's partially responsible for dad being dead, and CK subsequently not having time for her at all." He lifted his hands then dropped them helplessly "With luck she'll figure out that magic isn't working for her and give up. But either way, I don't want to leave it up to her to reverse it, because I just don't trust her."

Clark nodded and rolled his eyes "Well I'm with you on that, she hasn't given us any reason to trust her."

"No she hasn't, but then she never did." Smallville's lips curved mockingly "We're like living breathing lie detectors. We know when someone's lying by listening to their pulse, their heartbeat, the tone in their voice, etc correct?" Both men nodded and gave wry smiles "Right; well I'm sure you both remember that the one person we never pointed our finger at for _**any**_ reason, even when she was accusing us of being dishonest and everything else besides, was Lana. We were far too busy thinking with our dicks to care that she was a two-faced, deceitful bitch. She never gave us any reason to trust her, we just excused everything she did or said because we wanted to get into her pants and stay there."

"At least we didn't trust her so much that we told her about ourselves." CK added relieved.

"No, even when I told her about myself so that she'd marry me, it wasn't because I trusted her, it was because I was desperate not to lose her; there's a big difference." Smallville pointed out dryly, before cheering up lightly "Mind you, when Lana was engaged to Lex and I kidnapped her from the engagement party, when I all but threw myself at her feet time and again, and the final indignity of when I begged her to take me back, I didn't tell her jack shit about myself. Guess I wasn't so desperate after all, huh?" He finished with glee.

"Yeah well congratulations and be grateful that she turned you down..." Clark put in with a soft grunt "...I'm the poor schmuck that she married, and then proceeded to gripe at morning, noon and night until I learnt to ignore her for my own sanity."

The men's lips twitched at the barely hidden moan in his voice; clearing his throat Smallville got back on track "Right well anyway, getting back to the point, I just don't think we should leave the reversal of the spell up to her; we should do it. Even if she doesn't remember this timeline, she'll remember the one where she was married to you, but either way hopefully the memories of all the ways in which she's fucked up will be enough to get her to give up once and for all."

Clark nodded "Yeah, I agree."

"Just a question..." CK waved his hand gaining both their attention "...Once this timeline is reversed, and I'm merged back with you or...you and Clark respectively; are we _going_ to remember what she did this time, so that we don't wait trustingly for Lana to do the reversal to take us back to the original timeline?" He asked politely. When his brothers just looked at him, his lips crooked up at the corners "Just a question."

"I really hate you CK." Smallville put in with a light laugh.

Clark smiled "I hate him more."

He grinned and shook his head "I didn't think so."

"Ok, then let's try and remember it..." At the disbelief on their faces, Smallville swore loud and long "For god's sakes guys, we're aliens. We're from an advanced race, we have all sorts of knowledge and blah, blah; surely one of us can try and remember it."

"Look we've still got at least 15 minutes before we have to leave right?" CK asked soberly. The two men nodded in unison "Ok, so let's fly to Metropolis, buy a pair of red shoes each, and then we can tap our heels three times and say, 'there's no place like home.' I'm sure that will be as effective as our technologically advanced brains." He finished tongue in cheek.

Smallville grinned in appreciation "I really, really hate you."

Clark snorted out a laugh and after a shared burst of laughter the men sobered, looked at their watches and sighed.

"Now I've got a question, how are we going to do this?" Clark put in with a light frown. At the questioning looks from the two, he held out his hand "People are going to be too busy running to pay us any attention. Even the ones who are looking up at the sky won't be able to see us if we fly, because we can move fast enough that they'll just think we're part of the meteor shower. So should we follow Lois around by flying, or on foot?"

"Both; one of us can fly, the other two on foot" CK replied then held up his hand "I'll fly."

The other two nodded.

"What'd we do about Lana?" Smallville asked and received shrugs in return. He blew out a soft breath "Ok, we don't know if after stopping Lois from running off the road, time will reset straight away or take a little time right?" The men nodded "So if it doesn't, we'll make sure Lo gets to the farm to help mom and dad and is there at the Medical Centre, and we'll just have to forget about Lana. We can't do anything with her because once the timeline is reset, we'll be back in the fortress and she'll be back at her house anyway. We just have to hope that by passing the memories of this timeline onto herself, that she doesn't try again."

"Do you really think that she has passed the memories of this time on?"

"Oh yeah, of that I'm positive." Smallville replied swiftly.

"And if it's not enough to stop her from trying again?" Clark asked pointedly.

"We'll worry about that if or when it happens." CK replied and the two men agreed. After a quick look at his watch CK stood "Let's go, we've still got 10 minutes before everything goes to hell, but I'll feel better if we're there before that time."

The two stood and Clark looked at his brothers wistfully "I wish we could talk to dad again."

"I know, but hopefully we'll be able to see him before we go; unfortunately that's all we can do." Smallville put in quietly.

Nodding in accord, the men shared one final look of unity and left.

oOo

The three men floated stationary high in the sky watching the graduation ceremony. From their position they could see the army trucks approaching the town and knew that soon it would all be starting, but for a few minutes they just wanted to see their loved ones again.

Their eyes shifted constantly between their dad and Lois. Seeing their father bursting with life, listening as he whispered sotto voiced to their mom how proud he was of their son, caused a lump to grow in all their throats. When his name was called and their mom, dad and Lois stood up clapping and smiling their eyes blurred. Jonathan Kent had been far too young to die, either today or in a few months when he would be taken from them, he was just far too young.

Smallville and Clark smiled at Lois, they'd only seen her yesterday but she'd been older then. They hadn't seen this Lois in years, but just listening to her breathe, knowing that she was alive, caused their hearts to settle into peace for the first time since learning of her death. As hard as it was for them, they could only imagine how much harder it must be for CK.

CK looked at Lois and smiled wistfully. It was strange to see the woman he loved alive, to look at her face, and hear her voice while he was awake. But Lois wasn't a woman; she was just a kid, not even 21. This was how she'd looked the last time he'd seen her and two months later she was dead.

His eyes shifted to the podium, saw Chloe talking to his younger self and his lips lifted. He knew what they were talking about, but didn't much care. Younger Clark could be enthralled, concerned and obsessed with Lana until the cows came home; for him, it was nice to see the friendship that had existed between him and Chloe once again.

His eyes moved back to his dad then Lois and back again until the tears blurred his vision. He swiped his hand across his eyes impatiently, noted his brothers were doing the same, and at the sound of the sirens and the voice issuing from the loud speaker, the men sucked in deep breaths and nodded to each other.

"This is it, as soon as Lois and Chloe split up, Smallville and I will land then follow Lois on foot; are you both ready?" The men nodded, and although it was hard, all three blanked out the calamity that was raging around them, and kept their eyes and minds fixed only on Lois.

Once the girls split up, CK flew high in the sky, dodging and ducking around meteors, Clark stayed far on Lois' right hand side, Smallville on her left and each kept her in their sights at all times. They watched as she pulled her car to the side of the road, saw her run up the hill and lay down on the grass to see the devastation that was taking place as the meteors one after another bombarded the town, and when she scrubbed her hands over her face to wipe away the tears, they saw that too.

When she got back into her car and began to drive, it was clear that she was headed to the farm, and all three men became vigilant. When a car pulled onto the road from behind the field of corn it had been concealed behind, and began to follow Lois, their hearts began to pound. Each zeroed their vision in on the driver, and shook their heads at seeing Lana behind the wheel.

As Lana's car began to pick up speed, Clark and Smallville moved in closer, CK swooped down to fly high enough to ensure neither of the women could see him, but low enough that he could act swiftly should Lana make any sudden moves, and all three watched carefully.

Since the men knew where every gully, clear stretch of road and embankment was located in Smallville, it didn't take them long to figure out exactly where Lana was intending to strike. However, since her car was a four wheel drive, and Lois' car was small by comparison, having to watch as the bigger car moved up and forced the smaller one to drive faster, caused all to grit their teeth in anger.

"Son of a bitch!" Smallville swore viciously when two wheels of Lois' car hit the dirt at the side of the road. He wanted to rush forward but couldn't expose himself so clenched his fists tight and waited.

It was clear that Lois was trying to keep the car steady, but it was a losing battle as Lana kept bumping and pushing until finally Lois was forced off the road, the wheels lost their grip and her car began to tumble down the side of the steep gully.

CK swooped down and under, lifted the car up by the axle flew it out of sight from the road, and held it motionless.

Clark and Smallville watched Lana speed away obviously in the mistaken belief that Lois was either dead or injured, and once she was out of view, Cark signalled to CK then both men zipped up high into the sky to wait.

At the all clear, CK flew the car back to the road then whizzed away rapidly, not allowing Lois to see anything but a blur, and joined his brothers in the sky.

The men smiled when Lois got out of her car, walked to the side of the road and looked down over the edge to where both she and her car had been headed moments ago. She scratched her head, looked up, down and around before she began muttering to herself. "What the fuck was that? First some creep drives me off the road, and then an invisible something saves me." She walked around her car, looked underneath, stood and frowned. "Actually, it didn't just save me, it kinda flew the car around for a bit, then held it up in the air for a few seconds...ok for more than a few seconds; it held me up long enough that I was in danger of peeing myself." She scratched her ear before calling out loudly "If you're still around, thank you; not for making me almost wet myself but for the save." She pursed her lips, and held up her hand "Sorry, I know, TMI...um, by the way it's not that I don't appreciate it, but I'll just keep this between us ok? If I tell my cousin she'll just come at me with a hundred questions, then she'll tell Smallville and he'll ask even more questions, and then the two of them will hang around here until you finally show yourself just to tell them to bugger off to get some peace, but they won't give it to you; trust me on that. Also to be honest, I really don't want to be their next freak of the week..." her eyes grew wide and she quickly rushed on; "...not that you're a freak or anything; well you might be, but I'm sure that you're a nice one." She stopped, flushed and coughed. "That didn't come out right, what I meant...oh shut up and stop talking to yourself Lois. More than likely no one helped you, this was just some random something. These things happen...well ok, they only happen in Smallville, but just accept it and be grateful that you're still alive, no thanks to the ASSHOLE WHO DROVE ME OFF THE ROAD." She finished with a screech.

The men's smiles had grown wider the longer she'd kept talking; during her soliloquy Smallville chuckled, CK snorted and Clark had sniggered, but as the last words of her discourse came shrieking out, they had to zip up higher to let out the belly laugh that rushed out of their mouths.

When she got back into her car and drove to the farm they followed, and watched as she helped their dad find their mom, before taking them to the Medical Centre. They continued to x-ray down, smiling at seeing their parents together again, smiled wider when Lois came into the room and their dad called her a hero, then the smiles faded by the destruction the Kryptonians caused as they walked through the Medical Centre. Their faces became hard when the woman picked their dad up by his throat, their hearts burst with pride when Lois stepped in and saved him, and they nodded gratefully when young Lana saved Lois.

"Nothing's happened yet." CK said quietly.

"I know, but I just remembered J'onn said that for everything to reverse, that it will take a little time so we just have to be patient." Smallville replied with a careless shrug.

He nodded and all three kept their eyes on Jonathan Kent, seeing him alive and well caused their eyes to well with tears once again.

"Dad was always great." Smallville smiled sadly "Remember the morning after Lana and I spent the night together, we ran into mom and dad when she was sneaking out of the house?"

Clark grimaced "Yeah."

"I guess Lana forgot that only one Kent was under her spell, because when she tried her shit with our parents by saying they should be mad at both of us, dad very swiftly put her in her place by saying, 'Lana this is about more than just you;' then he very nicely kicked her out." He let out a small laugh and shook his head. "I don't think she was used to being told to mind her own damned business by a Kent, but no matter how politely it was put, that's exactly what dad said to her."

Clark nodded and laughed "Yeah, dad was a right one; remember Chloe said that she saw Lana flying out of the house. Well Lana's problem was that she'd gotten so used to me brown nosing to her, that she forgot adults were different. So when dad told her to get out, she almost ran like her pants were on fire."

CK laughed heartily "So then what happened?"

"Well mom was trying to stay calm, but dad wasn't about to put up with either Lana's or my crap that morning." Smallville recalled cheerfully.

"No way; dad was far from done when Chloe arrived, it was only because of what happened afterwards that we escaped his wrath." Clark smiled slightly. "But dad was far from stupid, he saw through both of us easily. He knew that Lana was a total egoist, completely wrapped up in herself and that I was just a randy kid who took the first opportunity I was given to have sex; and he let us know it, by what he said to both her and me that morning."

Smallville's smile hitched up "Yeah, when dad said there were some conversations he didn't think he needed to have with us, remember our response; 'that's because you and mom don't think I'm normal.' Mom and dad thought of us as special and in a good way, but just because we didn't like getting a bit of home truth from dad, we instantly went on the defensive." He paused and looked at his twin directly. "We wanted them to catch us you know."

"I do know." Clark rolled his eyes "It was our way or thumbing our nose at our parents and showing them how grown up we were."

"Precisely; if we'd really wanted to keep it between us, Lana and I would have gone to her apartment at the Talon. No one would have seen us and no one would have found out, unless we told them." Smallville lips lifted in a small mocking smile "And I think dad knew it too."

"Oh yeah I agree, and I think that's also partially why he was so pissed off. However, it wasn't just us that wanted to be caught, Lana did as well, which is exactly why she didn't argue about staying at the farm; regardless of all her; 'I told you we should have stayed at the Talon' crap." He finished in mimicry before continuing "We just kept pushing the envelope until we were caught because that was our sole intention all along. First we had sex in the bedroom while the parents are sleeping down the hall, but they didn't catch us. Well that was a bit of bad luck, so Lana of course had to hang around until we fell asleep. Then she wakes up and just lies there waiting for me to wake up; which I finally did. So there we were just lying there like a couple of morons, when suddenly we simultaneously realised 'oh my god it's morning, how did that happen? The sun never rises every single day, there have been the odd occasions when it's taken a holiday, so how were we supposed to know it was going to come up today. Aw gee, now we're in for it'; but nope the parents never walked in." Clark snorted and shook his head.

Smallville took up the tale with a quick head nod "Yeah, we just couldn't get it right that day huh? And it's funny how neither of us even thought that I should go downstairs first and create a diversion, so that Lana could get out of the house safely, just in case mom and dad were up and around. So we snuck downstairs and finally thank god we were caught. I wonder what act of desperation we would have tried next if mom and dad weren't around that morning." He turned to Clark and asked dryly.

"Maybe sex on the kitchen table?" CK asked tongue in cheek.

Smallville snorted and chimed in "Nope, I think in the back of my mind, my next suggestion was for us to do it in the middle of the town square; I mean someone would be bound to see us for sure."

"Yeah and just in case they didn't we'd have to accidentally knock against the town bell 5 or 10 times to attract everyone's attention, and get them all to come running to see what the emergency was." Clark guffawed.

"Of course, I mean hat's the point of finally having sex, if you're going to keep it to yourselves?" Smallville asked rhetorically before continuing "It's no wonder dad thought we were irresponsible, because that's all our actions showed him. That we were a couple of immature horny kids who wanted to prove to the world we were adults by having sex, and making sure they found out about it." He summed up neatly.

CK nodded then shook his head stupefied "Well I have to agree that both you and Lana wanted to be caught." He tilted his head in query "But did you actually _want_ to have sex, or was it all just calculated for impact?"

Smallville smiled lopsided "We wanted to; I'm sure you remember that sex was on our mind a lot at that age." CK nodded agreeably "Well, I was more than ready to do it but given that it was Lana, naturally I was also eager." His lips twisted cynically "However, the truth is that consciously I might have been saving myself for Lana but subconsciously I would have done it with a $10 hooker. That's borne out by the fact that I wasn't only ready but more than eager to do it with Alicia when I was under the influence of redK; which as you know doesn't make me do anything I don't want to, it just gives me the balls to do the stuff that I want. If she hadn't knocked that redK necklace off me, our marriage couldn't have been annulled, since it would have consummated."

He swiped his hand through his hair, and rolled his eyes "But I can guarantee that if I hadn't been shot that day, poor Chloe would have been the recipient of a lot of phoney bashful confessions from Lana and me, about how humiliated we felt at being caught, etc, etc. We both wanted people to know, we just never confessed as much out loud." He took a deep breath and finished "Well I can tell right now that If Lo and I have kids, I won't appreciate them having sex under my roof either, and I'll damned well have something to say about it if I catch them the next morning too." He finished grimly.

Both men nodded firmly in agreement then all three looked down at their father.

"I wish..." Smallville began only to trail off.

"I know." Clark patted Smallville's shoulder "But like you said, we can't do anything more than what we've already done."

They watched as young Clark come into the hospital, smiled at him and Lois embracing, and nodded when he charged off after learning about the visitors.

"The last time I found out about them..." CK began then coughed softly "...the last time, it was when mom told me they'd killed dad."

The men put their hands on his shoulders in support.

CK's eyes reluctantly moved from Lois to his dad, and just as reluctantly back to her then him again. Two people, both of whom he'd loved and lost. God seeing them both alive, this was the one thing he would have given anything for all these years. To him it wasn't magic that made it happen, it was a miracle.

He looked at his two brothers and sighed "We'd better go, or I won't ever want to." They nodded and began to turn but paused to watch when young Clark arrived, and Lois took the flowers from his hand before she began to tease him.

"You mean to say that Lois helped mom and dad then further saved dad's life, and you were so grateful, that you couldn't even _pretend_ the shitty two dollar flowers you got Lana, weren't for her?" CK looked at his brothers incredulous.

Both men hunched their shoulders in disgrace "We didn't know everything she'd done at the time." Smallville replied apologetically.

CK lifted his brows and waited patiently.

"Yeah and well...he is all of us, so you didn't either." Clark reminded him humbly.

CK's head tilted politely.

"Um maybe we didn't give them to her because they were shitty." Smallville put in eagerly.

CK grunted and shook his head "Maybe we were just the little shits, ever think of that?"

"Frequently."

"All the time."

The two men replied simultaneously with a sigh.

"Well young Clark might not care what Lois thinks now, but as we all know one day he will. So I say good on her for sticking us with that very well placed jab, before handing the flowers back and walking away." CK remarked in a tone of satisfaction.

"That's my Lo." Smallville replied proudly.

"Our Lo." The two corrected immediately.

With shared smiles of brother-ship, the three took off flying to the fortress.

oOo

CK looked around, turned to his brothers and sighed "I haven't been here in years."

"How does it feel to be back?"

He shrugged undecided "I don't know; for 9 years I've lived with hate for anything Kryptonian, so it's hard to just switch back and be ok with it."

"Yeah, but once you're merged back with me it will be ok since we won't remember what happened in this timeline." Smallville replied with a small smile.

"I'll be forgotten?" CK asked with a touch of sadness.

"No, you're me so you'll be very much alive, but this timeline and everything that's happened here will be forgotten, and I'm not sorry about that." Smallville returned gently but honestly.

"Neither am I." CK smiled genuinely, then his forehead wrinkled and he looked between his brothers "Are either of you feeling weird?"

"What kind of weird?" Clark quickly asked.

"I don't know, just weird."

"Are you in any pain?"

He shook his head "No."

"It's gonna be alright CK, this must be it, c'mon sit down."

Smallville and Clark each grasped one of his arms and helped him to sit on the floor before crouching down in front of him.

CK rubbed his face hard before dropping his hands "How are you two feeling?"

"I'm ok..." Clark turned to Smallville "How about you?"

"I'm ok...I think." Feeling a little dizzy, Smallville sat down beside CK and rested his head against the ice at his back "Maybe I'm not feeling so ok, but..."

Clark took a quick look at his watch and nodded "Ok, I've checked the time so if anything happens we'll know how long you were out for..." He stopped and fell hard on his bottom; "...correction; how long all of us were out for." Rubbing his eyes, he looked around and noted the room seemed hazy, and had begun to tilt "Is everything looking strange to you?"

CK began to nod then stopped and closed his eyes "I feel like I'm in a fun house of mirrors."

"Fuck! The pain hurts like hell but this is damn disorienting." Smallville pressed his fingers hard against his eyes wishing the swirling behind the lids would stop.

"Clark how long has it been?"

He lifted his wrist, peeked at the time, let his arm drop heavily and closed his eyes again. "2 minutes."

The men grew quiet, each waiting for the punch-drunk feeling to pass, and hoping their debilitation would be of a short duration.

oOo

_2015 _

Lana Kent opened her mouth to recite the words of the spell and hesitated. Her brow wrinkled as the memory of what she'd done wrong previously floated into her head. Letting her bag fall from her grasp, she sat down at the kitchen table, rubbed her fingers over her forehead and sighed. God it had been close, she'd almost started to perform the spell and if she had, if the memory hadn't come back so swiftly, she would have screwed up.

She had to put her relationship with Clark out of her head. Don't think about their marriage, or the hurtful words he'd said to her the previous night. Don't think about the day of the meteor shower when she finally gave voice to her love for him and he reciprocated, don't think about Lois, or Lex, or about anything but the day she wanted to go back to. She wanted to talk to both her younger self and Clark, but she could only do that, if she concentrated.

Standing once again, she picked up her bag, and closed her eyes. Breathing deeply a few times, she cleared her mind of everything that could and had gone wrong, concentrated and performed the spell.

oOo

At the shaking of his shoulder Clark opened his eyes, turned his head to see his twin rubbing his hands over his face and looked back at his friend "J'onn, what's going on?"

He frowned unhappily "How are you feeling my friend?"

"Ok, a little bit out of it but it seems to be passing..." He turned to his twin and frowned "You ok?"

"Yeah, J'onn woke me up a second before you so I felt the same way, but I'm starting to feel ok now." Smallville scratched his head and looked around the apartment "Why are we sitting on the floor?"

"No idea, the last thing I remember was you saying that we wouldn't destroy the book until the very last second in case Lana changes her mind." He shrugged confused "We were standing then, or at least you were. I was sitting on the edge of the kitchen table but..." He shook his head and pointed "...I don't remember how I got from that side of the room to over here."

"Neither do I." Pushing up to his feet, Smallville took a few steps forward and picked up the book from the floor before turning back to see his twin likewise rising.

"My friends..." At J'onn's voice both men turned to him "When nothing had happened by 8.30, I went to Clark's house to see if Lana had changed her mind about reversing the spell, but the house is empty." At their frowns, he sighed. "The house is empty, but there is evidence on the kitchen table that she has done something."

"What'd you mean?" Clark asked cautiously.

"There is a box sitting on the bench in the kitchen which contains all sorts of bottles and vials which I believe must contain some magical elements." He paused and finished "There is also a mortar and pestle left carelessly beside it, and a few items on the kitchen table."

"Well you did say that she was going to pass the memories onto herself so she probably needed it for that." Smallville replied somewhat hopefully.

J'onn nodded cautiously "Yes, but where is Lana and why is there still two of you?"

An arrested expression fixed itself on both men's faces "C'mon."

The three men flew as fast as they could to Clark's house, and came to a stop in the kitchen, their eyes tracking over the paraphernalia strewn around.

Swearing silently Clark turned to Smallville "You go one way, I'll go the other and we'll search this damn town to ensure that she hasn't gone anywhere."

Smallville rubbed his brow, dropped his hand and exhaled "She's not going to be here Clark; she knows that we could find her in a heartbeat..."

"Yeah, but where could she go, where the hell did she get all this crap from, and why is it here?" He interrupted waving his hand around the kitchen before raking it through his hair and tugging "She doesn't know any magic so what the hell was she hoping to do?"

Smallville shook his head helplessly, but both turned to J'onn at his small cough "Lana does know magic my friends."

"You said that she didn't." Clark replied perplexed.

"She knew the spell." He reminded them gently "She knew the spell which caused you to be split; she knew it backwards and forwards."

Smallville's eyes widened "I didn't even think of that."

Clark swore colourfully "Neither did I." He paced around the room like a tiger in a cage before turning to his twin "Do you think she's used it already?"

"What'd you mean?"

"Well I remember talking to you one moment, and J'onn waking me up the next, but I don't remember how I got on the floor and neither do you. You were fed up with waiting, wondered what was taking her so long and had just mentioned that it was 7.30, yet J'onn went to check up on her at 8.30, found the house empty then came to find us in the fortress. So what happened in the hour that neither of us remembers?"

Smallville scratched his forehead, swiped his hand over his cheek and chin then shook his head helplessly "I don't know but..."

"Do you think she's used the spell to change our lives already?"

Smallville shook his head "No, if she had we would have felt it, but I don't remember feeling any pain, do you remember seeing me writhing on the floor, or feeling anything yourself?" Clark sighed but shook his head. "Exactly, plus if everything was changed, J'onn wouldn't have remembered that we were waiting at the fortress for Lana to reverse the spell, and surely if she'd messed with the past again there'd now be a third Clark."

"Yeah but how did we end up on the floor, and what happened to the hour that we've both lost?" He asked logically "Smallville; Lana knows the spell which means she could have used it, gone back, screwed up, and reversed it again. And maybe during the time-frame that things were messed up, we were unconscious and didn't even realise that anything was wrong, or we did but have forgotten it now that's she's reversed it and we're back here again."

Smallville blew out a deep breath and nodded hesitantly "That's only speculation..." when his twin's mouth opened he quickly held up a hand "It's good speculation and I'm half inclined to agree with you, but we have no proof. I don't have memories of anything happening, do you?" When his twin grimaced but shook his head, he nodded. "Ok, so whether that happened or not we'll never find out, in which case there's no point in dwelling on it. If she tried something it didn't work, because we're still here."

"Yeah but she's not." Clark pointed out.

"Precisely so let's just concentrate on that." He raked a hand through his hair and turned to his friend "J'onn was everyone still at the farm when you left?"

"Yes my friend."

Smallville looked at the clock and nodded "Ok, so if Lana's used the spell to go back again then at the moment we're safe and nothing's been changed. Otherwise J'onn, Dianna and Chloe wouldn't be at the farm; mom would since she lives there, but the others wouldn't."

Clark nodded in agreement. "If Lana's used the spell to go back to the past I'd suggest trying it ourselves and following her, but we have no idea when she's gone back to." His twin nodded in agreement, and once again J'onn coughed.

"You think you know J'onn?"

"It is once again only speculation, but I think she has gone back to the same time that she did previously for one of two reasons. The first, I have read Lana's mind quite a lot the last two days, so I know how deeply she regrets not telling Clark the truth on the day they eloped." He pressed his lips together and smiled sadly. "At first it was from fear that she was going to lose him, and after she did, it was with the belief that if she had been honest, he wouldn't have had the dreams, and consequently his love for her wouldn't have died. So she might think that by going back, and this time being honest about everything, it will be in her favour."

"It makes sense; when I confronted Lana, I made it clear that I didn't appreciate the way she deceived me 8 years ago." Clark agreed with a soft nod.

J'onn inclined his head "She thought about your words a lot afterwards."

"What's the other reason J'onn?"

"The other reason is also something that Clark said to her." He smiled gently at his friend. "You told Lana that nothing, not even separation from Lois would stop you loving her." Clark bobbed his head lightly, J'onn sighed deeply "She has also thought of this quite a lot. The last time she went back, she went to the Medical Centre and talked to Lois while she was unconscious. So if younger Clark rejects her, she might think her only recourse is to get rid of the competition, and with Lois out of the way, you would love her only."

The two men drew in swift breaths. Turning to his twin Smallville saw the same determination burning in his eyes "We have the book; we know the spell so let's do it."

"I'll go get the book, come back here and we can check to see if there's enough left over to do the spell, if there is we'll go." Without giving him time to reply Clark left.

Smallville patted his friend on the back "Thanks J'onn, if you hadn't checked up on Lana and then come to the fortress who knows how long we would have been out for, and she might have had time to do something." He paused and shook his head "Thank god she didn't, or if she did we don't know about it."

J'onn inclined his head briefly "Would you like me to go with you my friend?"

He shook his head "No J'onn, hopefully by us being in the past, no one here will even miss us, but I'd like you to stay here just in case you're needed."

"Then I will do so."

Clark returned with book in hand, flipped to the correct page and checked to ensure that not only were the right properties available, but that the quantity was sufficient "We need some more stuff."

"I was thinking that if Lana's gone back to the day we asked her to marry us, then that's the fourth day. So it's probably best if we get there a day or two beforehand; what'd you think?"

"Good idea." Clark replied firmly.

"When you packed your stuff and took it to the farm; did you leave any clothes behind?"

"Yeah some."

"Ok, so can you go and buy the stuff we need, while I pack us some clothes?"

"Yeah, I'll be back soon." Without further ado, Clark left the house once again.

"J'onn would you mind letting mom, Chloe and Dianna know what we're doing. I'm really hoping no one will even notice that we're gone but in just case."

"Certainly my friend" He slapped him on the back "Good luck to you both."

"Thanks J'onn, and thanks once again for all your help."

"You are welcome." With a smile he dematerialised and departed.

oOo

After swiftly packing some clothes for them both, Smallville returned to the kitchen to make order from chaos, just to keep busy while waiting in a fever of impatience for his twin to return. Clark did so five minutes later, and while he quickly made up the mixture, Smallville studied the spell carefully, then the book was stored in the bag, and the two men looked at each other.

"Ok, so should we go to the second or third day?" Smallville raised his brows in query.

Clark thought about it for a moment before answering "It was the fourth day we begged Lana to take us back, and if we go to the second day we'll just be waiting around for my wife to show up, so let's go to the third day. That'll still give us 24 hours before our younger self makes a jerk of us and starts begging young Lana to take us back."

"Good idea."

"So where are we going to stay?"

"At the farm..." He replied promptly "...I think we should tell them some of what's going on, and I want to stay close to ensure that our younger self doesn't do anything stupid; like eloping with Lana while we're otherwise occupied."

"Definitely." Clark smiled with a slight inclination of his head "But if we tell them are they going to remember us being there? We don't want to do anything that's just going to mess up the future any more than it already has been."

He pursed his lips for a moment before answering "Once Lana fails, and she's going to because I'm not going to let our younger self screw up our lives, she'll give up and return to the future right?" Clark nodded "Ok, so when she reverses the spell, taking us back to the original timeline, no one's going to remember anything, including your marriage, because it'll be like it never happened, which should be the same for us going now."

Clark nodded slowly "Yeah but Chloe did remember seeing Lana, then again that was only in the second timeline. She didn't remember seeing Lana the first time, because Lana hadn't gone to the past the first time."

"Exactly, in the original timeline when Lo was unconscious in 2007, older Lana didn't go to the past and talk to her younger self, which is why young Lana married Lex. So as older Lana didn't go, Chloe didn't remember seeing her because there was nothing to remember." Smallville summed up.

"And as Lana's going to reverse everything it will be like we've never gone to the past either." Clark shook his head and shrugged in defeat "Then again for all we know we've done all of this before, but I don't remember it and clearly you don't either, so we should be safe right?"

Smallville likewise shrugged "I think so, it's all pretty confusing but that makes sense to me. However, if we don't tell them what's going on, we'll have to skulk around Smallville and not only is the town not big enough for that, but more importantly I don't want to leave our younger self alone with Lana, not the older or younger version. Wherever he is, one of us is going to be there too."

"Agreed; speaking of which, do you think we should tell them Lana's responsible?"

Smallville rubbed the back of his neck and sighed "Ah hell, for now we'll just play it by ear. If one of us says something to cover up, the other will go along with it, but it'll be best if we don't say anything about Lana's involvement until or unless we have to."

"Ok, but I'm not going to pretend that I love her."

"It wouldn't make sense if you did since we're going to be there to stop young Clark from marrying her."

"True, so let's go."

"Are you ready?" Clark nodded, and firmed his grip on the bag which contained some clothes and the book.

Smallville recited the spell, and as the world began to shift and distort around them, taking on a kaleidoscopic hue, they closed their eyes and waited for the world to calm around them.

oOo

_Day Two: 2007 – Kent Farm_

Chloe drove into the yard of the farm, left her car sitting in the driveway and made her way to the house. She'd just lifted her hand to knock when the door was pulled open.

"Come in dear, I was keeping an eye out for you." Leading the younger woman to the island, Martha placed a hot cup of coffee in front of her "Clark's just doing his chores..." When the girl yawned hugely in response, she smiled "Why don't you go upstairs and have a shower? You've been at the hospital most of the night, so a nice shower and then breakfast before having a sleep will make you feel better."

"Thanks Mrs Kent...um I don't have any clothes though."

"Well, if you don't mind borrowing some of mine you're welcome to them."

The younger girl smiled gratefully "Thanks again, I'm pretty tired and really wasn't looking forward to driving back to the Talon."

"Well you go upstairs and jump in the shower, and I'll leave some clothes in Clark's room for you."

Nodding Chloe turned for the stairs then turned back "Lois didn't wake up last night."

"I know dear, I rang the Medical Centre first thing." Martha smiled softly "But that doesn't mean she's not going to wake up today, or maybe tomorrow; it just means that we have to wait."

Chloe swallowed back her tears and nodded "Yeah."

Seeing the fear in the young girl's eyes, Martha hoped that she was right and not just supplying false hope, before giving herself a mental shake not to be silly. Of course Lois was going to be alright; she was physically fit, healthy, young and strong. Whatever was wrong, she'd pull through.

Turning for the cupboard, she pulled out the oatmeal and began to prepare breakfast.

oOo

When all was still the men opened their eyes, looked around and noted that although they were still in Clark's kitchen, it wasn't the same one they'd been in only minutes ago.

"Well this is my house, or it's the one I'll own with Lana in a few years. It just looks a little different at the moment." Clark confirmed.

Smallville looked around, saw the faded wallpaper and carpets, the furniture which was somewhat musty but still in good condition, and turned to his twin with a light frown "It's a nice place, I mean the furnishings and stuff has to be changed but overall it's nice; so how'd you afford it?"

"The owners were pretty desperate to sell; they inherited the house from their mom but didn't want to live in it. By the time Lana and I came along it had been vacant for quite a while so they accepted the offer we made."

"I'm surprised no one bought it before you did." Smallville replied walking from the kitchen towards the front room.

"Yeah, but this isn't a big town with lots of people coming and going, so they were happy to get it off their hands, and we were lucky to get it for the price we did." Clark shrugged uncaring "Anyway, let's go find out if we're in the right time."

Smallville nodded, walked into the hallway with Clark one step behind and pulled open the door before stopping on the porch "Ok, so the first day that Jo was in the future with me was November 5th, we're hoping to be here on the 7th; what date did you marry Lana?"

"November the 8th."

"Well at least we know that time was running parallel, I wasn't sure if the dates when Jo was in the future and Lo was in the medical centre were the same but obviously they were, so that's something."

"You think it's significant?"

"Nope, it just saves me the hassle of keeping the dates straight." He frowned lightly "Ok, we need a newspaper, but I don't want anyone to see us until we know for sure that were in the right time, so I'll go to Metropolis and be back in a minute." He left and returned a few minutes later "We're in the right year, and month but we got the day wrong..." Blowing out a light breath, he showed Clark the paper "It's the 6th, so it's only the second day."

"Ok, well we need to remember what happened on the second day." Trooping back into the house, the men stood in the lounge room and thought quietly "On the first day nothing happened. I mean we found Lo, took her to the hospital, asked Lex if he was responsible, and that was pretty much it. It was on the second day that we started to look into what could be wrong, and Lana helped us right?"

Smallville nodded "Yeah, we were at the Medical Centre sitting with Lois when Lana turned up and offered to help find out what was wrong; that was before mom arrived."

"Right and mom took over around lunch time, I remember that because when we went back to the farm, Chloe had lunch ready and afterwards we all went sleuthing." Clark summed up.

Smallville bobbed his head in accord "That sounds about right, but can you remember what time we left for the hospital in the morning?"

Clark rubbed his brow and shook his head "No, look did you check the time when you were in Metropolis?"

"Yeah, it was about 7.20am."

"Well I don't think we went that early; remember Chloe stayed with Lois all the first night. She came back to the farm the next morning, had a shower, breakfast then went to have a sleep, and we left for the hospital afterwards." Clark finished with a satisfied smile.

Smallville frowned lightly "Are you sure we left after breakfast and not after morning tea?"

Clark likewise frowned, bit his lip then shook his head "No because today's the morning of the second day, and for the first two days we were all still cautious enough that we wanted someone to be with Lois all the time."

"Ok, so either they're all having breakfast or they will be soon; so let's go."

Pushing back from the wall they'd been leaning against, they once again made their way outside.

"Smallville..." At his name, he turned "Since it's only the second day we might have to stay for longer than 24 hours."

"I know, but we can't do anything about that. We'll just give them some bull about having to stick around for a couple of days. We know that Lana's going to turn up, and although we have a good idea of her intentions, we also know that her plans could change if things don't go her way; so we'll just have to take our cue from her."

Clark heaved out a deep sigh and nodded "Ok, so for now how do we do this? Do we just go into the house and tell them or what?"

"Yeah, it's direct, to the point and there's no bullshitting around, we don't have time for that. J'onn thinks Lana will try again like she did with you; which means on the fourth day, but for all we know she might decide to turn up early. So maybe it's a good thing we landed here on the second day instead of the third." At the curiosity in his twin's eyes, Smallville shrugged "If Lana thinks confessing all is the way to ensure the two of us stay happily together, then wouldn't her success be even more certain if she convinces young Lana to go to our younger self with hand on heart before, he puts himself out there begging her to take us back."

Clark looked at him in patent disbelief "Are you kidding? He already thinks the sun shines out of Lana's bum. So if she goes to him on bended knee first, he won't give a damn what she's done."

"Not that he...or I should say we; ever did." Smallville replied cynically.

"Not that we ever did, no." Clark agreed with a firm nod "But if she goes to him first, he'll be even worse than we ever were, and there'll be absolutely no dealing with him after that."

"Exactly, so as I said, maybe it's a good thing we're here today. At least this way if Lana does turn up tomorrow, just by being here early ourselves means that we can ensure that no version of Lana get's even the slightest opportunity of talking to him alone."

"Maybe we can cut down the odd's even further." Clark posed thoughtfully "It was spending time with Lana on the second day, that started us thinking about getting her back right?"

Smallville shook his head quickly "We never stopped thinking of that, this just gave us the opportunity to do it."

"Yeah, but prior to this Lana wouldn't have anything to do with us, so maybe we can limit his association with her even further by going to the Medical Centre and waking up Lois. With Lo awake and fine, the two of them won't need to spend time in each other's company trying to find out what's wrong with her." Clark's lips lifted in a half smile "J'onn showed you the spell Lana used, and we have the book, so why not?"

"I'd agree with your suggestion except we'd have one very big problem..." At the twinkle in Smallville's eye, he titled his head curiously "Lois; if she sees two older versions of Clark Kent she'll have a billion questions, and won't want to leave with us until we satisfy her curiosity." His lips crooked up "Her curiosity won't be satisfied in two minutes by the way, by which time the doctors, nurses etc will be there, and then they'll start asking questions. Once they call Chloe to let her know that Lo's awake, everyone from the farm will arrive en masse with even more questions."

Clark shook his head "Yeah, Lois is a troublemaker alright."

"But she's my troublemaker." He replied smugly.

"Ours" Clark corrected smiling "Ok, so we'll go to the farm and talk to them before waking up Lois."

Smallville nodded in agreement.

They sped to the farm house and came to a stop beside the barn. X-raying the house and yard, they found their mom cooking breakfast, young Clark feeding the chickens, and Chloe walking down the stairs into the kitchen.

They waited patiently until young Clark was finished his chores, had retreated inside to wash his hands and took a seat at the table with the women, before walking forward.

Standing on the top of the stairs, they turned to each other, nodded in unity, Clark pulled the door open and they walked inside. The three people seated at the table turned at the opening of the door, saw them, and stared. To say they were shocked was an understatement.

The men smiled in unison and called out simultaneously "Hi mom."


	5. Chapter 5

Hello

Thank you for the feedback guys, it's much appreciated. Here is the next chapter; I hope you all enjoy it.

Linda

oOo

**Chapter 5**

Martha turned to her son and posed the solution she'd thought would suit best "Clark honey, did you want to go and sit with Lois after breakfast and I'll go after lunch. That way I can get a few chores done, Chloe can have a sleep and when you come back, you can be here in case she needs you."

"What if you need me mom?" Clark asked with a light frown.

"I can use the phone but since Chloe lives at the Talon with Lois, I'd just feel better if there was someone with her all the time."

"I'll be ok Mrs Kent." Chloe smiled gratefully.

"I know you will dear but let an old woman worry, it's what she does best." Martha replied kindly.

"You're not old." Both young people protested immediately.

Before anyone could say anything further, the door was pulled open and two men, identical in every way walked into the house.

Chloe's mouth fell open.

Martha looked at the men, glanced at her younger son, knew they were all her son's just different versions and stared at the newcomers dumbfounded.

Young Clark's eyes widened as they flew back and forth between one man and the other.

"Hi mom."

At their voices, young Clark jumped out of his seat but before he'd managed to do anything, both men stepped aside and held up their hands.

"Whoa, hey wait up..." He stared at them stupefied for a moment, and began to clench his fist but was forestalled by the next words "We're older than you, so we're stronger, faster and we can fly. So how about you stop wasting time and sit down because we need to talk to all of you."

"Smallville give him a break, you remember what we were like." Clark smiled lopsided "If an older version of us turned up out of the blue, we'd be the same way; and since there's two of us well..."

"Yeah ok..." Turning back to young Clark, Smallville shrugged "Look, you can try to hit us but first, there's two of us and only one of you. Second as I said before we're older, so all the other stuff I said is true too. Third, since we are you there's not one move you can make that we don't know and fourth, we're not evil older clones or anything else, we just need to talk to all of you and we don't have time to waste. So please can we sit and get down to business?"

"You're trying to say that you're me, just older?" Young Clark asked sceptically.

Clark shook his head "We're not _trying_ to say anything at all, we're saying it."

Martha rose to her feet, put her hand on her younger son's arm, smiled at the older men and gestured "Sweetie, come sit down and let's find out what's going on."

"Ok mom." Young Clark re-took his seat but continued to regard the newcomers with suspicion.

When everyone was seated, Martha looked between the visitors and nodded "Ok, first we need to get you some breakfast..." When their mouths opened, she held up a hand "If you are my son's then you know that I'll have my way, and I won't let my boys go hungry."

"We don't need to..."

She rolled her eyes lightly and smiled "I know, you don't need to eat but you're going to."

Nodding obediently but not wanting to waste any time, the two Clark's zipped around the kitchen, grabbed plates and cutlery before helping themselves to oatmeal, and toast.

Smallville poured them both a cup a coffee, and smiled at his friend "Hi Chloe."

"Hi..." She looked between one man and the other before shaking her head.

"Hi Chlo." Clark bobbed his head.

"Are you two really...?" She pointed at young Clark; they nodded "This is amazing, just when I think you can't surprise me anymore you still do." She blushed, bit her lip and giggled nervously "I mean that in a good way."

"It's ok Chlo, I imagine seeing two older versions of Clark Kent would be kind of disconcerting." Smallville smiled genially.

Wanting to get down to business the two men ate breakfast rapidly, then sat back with their coffees. At their mom's raised brows they shrugged apologetically "Sorry mom, I know you don't like it when I eat so fast but..." Smallville shrugged "...but we really do need to talk to all of you and it can't wait."

Martha looked between her two new older sons, saw the apprehension and the determination in both their eyes and decided it wasn't the time to lecture. She bobbed her head "Ok sweetie, so can you tell us how you got here, where or when you're from, what's going on, everything?"

Both men nodded, and deciding to take the opening given, Clark swept his gaze to encompass all present "We're here because of Lois."

"Lo." The amusement faded from Chloe's lips, and trepidation took its place "What about her?"

"It's gonna be ok Chloe." Young Clark reached out and squeezed her hand, before turning to the two newcomers "What about Lois."

"We know that right now she's in the medical centre, and we know what's wrong with her." Smallville replied forthright "What we need to do is get her out of there and bring her here."

"Why?" Martha asked quietly perplexed.

"There's nothing medically wrong with Lois mom, the reason she's unconscious is because someone did this; they used magic on her."

"WHAT!?"

He inclined his head briefly "Clark and I..." He stopped and gave a wry smile "We need something else..." At their bewildered frowns, he shrugged "To prevent any confusion between us, I'm called Smallville and he's called Clark..." He looked at his new young brother and muttered under his breath "I can now understand why young Lois called her older self Joanne."

Clark's lips crooked up at the mutter and turning to his young double, he smiled "Ok since I'm Clark, we need to call you something else."

"Why?" Young Clark frowned.

"Because it'll be too confusing having two Clark's. The last time mom suggested we be called Clark 1 and Clark 2; we said no. After that, she decided that she was going to call one of us sweetie and the other honey, we made a bet that she wouldn't last..." He trailed off at his mother's scowl.

"Good one Clark." Smallville mumbled under his breath.

"You bet on me." Martha asked incredulous.

"I said that you'd last for an hour mom." Smallville quickly put in.

"And how long did you give me?" She turned to her other newest son and demanded.

Clark coughed apologetically "30 minutes."

"30 minutes; why that's..." She began outraged, then asked curiously "How long did I last?"

"Well when we said that you might as well call us both Sweetie-Honey, or Honey-Sweetie, you reminded us that we weren't too old for a smack." Clark informed her with a grin.

She smiled hugely in response "Now that's more like it."

Chloe chuckled, young Clark flushed and the two men grinned.

"After that you just called us both Clark with the occasional sweetie or honey thrown in, but everyone else still used Smallville and Clark." Smallville smiled charmingly then bobbed his head in young counterparts direction "So we now need something for him otherwise it'll be really confusing."

"Why don't you call him CK like Jimmy does?" Chloe suggested helpfully.

The men's smiles were instantly replaced by disquieted frowns.

"No, it seems wrong to call him that. I don't know why but..." Turning to his twin, Clark looked saw the uneasiness in his face "Does it seem wrong to you as well?"

Smallville nodded slowly "Yeah, it feels like that name belongs to someone else. I can't remember who, but it doesn't seem right to just take it from him as if he doesn't matter."

"Yeah, and I get the feeling that he had more than enough taken from him." Clark agreed quietly.

Smallville tilted his head in assent "Me too."

The three looked at each other in confusion; the two men seemed lost in thought about someone called CK, yet they couldn't even remember who he was. Unable to understand they shook their heads and shrugged perplexed.

Shaking off his introspection a minute later, Smallville looked at young Clark in consideration.

"What?"

"How about we call you Skipper." He suggested wickedly and smiled widely at his twin's muffled grunt.

"I am not being called Skipper." Young Clark replied flatly.

"Then what?"

He sighed hugely and rolled his eyes "Jerome, we'll use my middle name; happy?" At their nods, he looked at them both pointedly "Now can we get on with it? You said this was about Lois, and we have to get her out of the medical centre; why?"

Sobering abruptly Smallville nodded "Yeah, look here's the story. A month ago in my time which is 2015, Lois woke up one morning and she wasn't 28 year old Lois, she was 20 year old Lois. She was the Lois that's in the Medical Centre right now."

Jerome frowned "How is that possible?"

"As Smallville said before, it was magic." Clark answered unhappily "Look, we are going to explain everything but we'll feel better if we can get Lo out of the hospital and bring her here first."

"But we can't just bring her here; she's in the hospital so it's not like we can just kidnap her." Chloe put in with a quick head shake, then followed it up with "And no offence, but how do we know that you have Lois' best interests at heart?"

Sighing heavily, the two men shared eye contact "We'll tell them first, it's the only thing we can do. Besides if you know who wants to hurt Lo, surely she won't try until after talking with the two younger you know who's." Clark told his twin quietly.

Smallville's eyes flicked to Jerome and back again "Yeah." Taking a deep breath he turned back to the three "Ok well as I was saying, a month ago when Lois woke up she was 20 year old Lois. The first time this happened..." At the fear on Chloe's face, he quickly shook his head "No, Chlo this isn't something that's going to happen to Lois all her life, but please just let us finish explaining ok?" She nodded reluctantly; he smiled gratefully and continued "Ok, when I say the first time, I mean when I was 19, Lois was unconscious for five days. No one knew what was wrong at the time, and we never found out what caused it, but five days later she just woke up. She was fine afterwards, she had no memory of being anywhere and there was nothing wrong with her. However, last month in 2015 we knew that young Lois would depart for lack of a better word, and her older self would come back after five days since we'd already lived through this period in 2007; do you all follow?" They nodded silently.

"Ok, now last month, Chloe you figured out that Lois had been affected by magic, and further the reason we never found out what caused it back in 2007, was because it was generated in 2015 and young Lois was caught up in it; either by accident or on purpose." When their mouths opened, he held up a hand forestalling any questions "The reason is because in the future, you, Lois and I are reporters at the Daily Planet." He smiled at seeing the pride in his friends eyes "Anyway, besides being a reporter in the future, I also use my powers openly to help people as Superman..."

Martha smiled proudly, Chloe giggled, Jerome rolled his eyes "You've gotta be kidding me; Superman?"

"I assure you that I'm not." Smallville inclined his head "Mom made the costume, I started my new career, and Lois gave me the name. It all worked out really well because I found that I could use my powers openly without fear of discovery, and still retain my privacy since no one knows that I'm Superman."

"When did you tell Lois about...?" Jerome trailed off uneasily.

"A little over 18 months ago" he replied simply before getting back to the point "Anyway since we figured it was done by magic, we wondered if someone was trying to get at Lois, either for a story she'd written about them, or as a way to control Superman..."

"Why would anyone think they could use Lois to control Superman?" Jerome cut in baffled.

Smallville's lips crooked up automatically "Because she's known as Superman's girlfriend thanks to the media."

"No way! How the heck did that happen?" Jerome shot out.

"It happened because Superman was a little careless and showed his partiality to her on more than one occasion." He replied matter of fact.

"Excuse me?"

Sighing heavily Smallville looked his younger twin in the eye "I told you when Lois woke up last month that she was her younger self..." They all nodded, but Jerome's eyes became watchful "Well what I didn't tell you, is that it happened a few days before our engagement party."

Three voices called out simultaneously.

"You and Lois?" Chloe asked astonished.

"You and Lois." Martha smiled pleased.

"Me and Lois!?" Jerome demanded stunned.

"Me and Lois; I will get back to this, but please just let me finish ok?" They all nodded reluctantly, but the barely disguised frown on Jerome's face didn't go unnoticed by anyone.

"Anyway, young Lois who was later called Jo, was in her older counterpart's body, she was called Joanne..." When Chloe's mouth opened, he held up a hand once again "Lois gave herself both those names. At the time we thought it was amusing, but let me tell you I can now understand why she did it. Referring to someone else by my name isn't only strange, it isn't easy to keep track when there are multiples; which is why I'm called Smallville, he's called Clark and we now have Jerome." Smallville rolled his eyes heavenward "Ok, so young Lois will be called Jo, and older Lois; my fiancée will be called Joanne, deal?"

Martha and Chloe's lips twitched and even Jerome seemed to find it amusing as his eyes held laughter; all three nodded in agreement.

"Ok, so getting back to the point, Joanne duly returned and afterwards everything was fine for a month. We still didn't know who'd done it or why, and I wanted to find out to ensure that it didn't happen again, but we came up blank. Anyway, a few days ago I left on a Superman call, started to feel the worst pain I have ever felt in my life, flew here to the farm and when the pain became unbearable, I fell to the ground unconscious. When I woke up I felt fine, came into the farm house and was having lunch with mom, when Clark here walked in the door." He smiled and thumbed at his twin "As you can imagine all three of us were shocked. When Clark and I started exchanging stories to find out what was going on, we found that our lives diverged when we were 19..."

"What'd you mean diverged?" Chloe looked at both men "Sorry but you've lost me there."

Clark decided to jump in and give a brief explanation, hoping that it would be enough "What he means is that initially we are...or we were the same man. However, the person who caused Lois to be unconscious 8 years ago for us but presently for you, went to the past when we were 19 and unfortunately with my help, changed the course my life was set on. Because of that we were split and now our lives were no longer the same. So from the time I was 19 my life and his diverged."

Smallville quickly took up the tale again "Right, so at first I thought that I was in an alternate reality that had been created when Clark's life split off from mine but..."

"What caused you to be split?" Martha interrupted to ask curiously.

The two men looked at each other, Smallville shrugged fatalistically; Clark looked back at the three, and sighing heavily reluctantly revealed "I married Lana."

"You married Lana?" Jerome asked wonderingly, before smiling hugely at his mom and Chloe "I'm going to marry Lana."

"No you're not." Smallville and Clark replied swiftly and firmly.

"What'd you mean" Jerome demanded truculently.

"I mean that I married Lana when I was 19 and because of that the timeline was changed, and the world was put out of order. Smallville and I were the same man, but we aren't any longer. He's the original, and I'm just the copy so..."

"That's bull!" Smallville cut in firmly "I have the memories of the original timeline yes, you have the memories of the second timeline and some of the original one, but that doesn't make you any less real than me, so don't call yourself a copy Clark because you're not. All it means is that we now have to fix things to bring back order from the chaos that's been created by your marriage."

Clark smiled gratefully at the staunchness in his twins eyes, and nodded before turning back to the others "We have to ensure the same mistake doesn't get repeated."

"Marrying Lana could never be a mistake." Jerome replied brusquely.

Clark rolled his eyes "And it was just that attitude which got me into trouble in the first place."

"Lana and I are meant to be together."

"Well I guess someone forgot to give her that memo since she's engaged to Lex at the moment, huh?" Clark drawled then brightened "Hey there's an idea, maybe while I'm here I should go to him with a big bag of money and beg him to keep her."

"I'll help you get the money, even if that means robbing an ATM or two." Smallville put in with a small chuckle.

"I'll help you rob them, even if that means going to jail for a century or two." Clark laughed back.

Chloe turned her face away and sniggered, Martha coughed, and Jerome glowered.

Turning to the women Clark addressed them ignoring Jerome's dirty look "It doesn't matter whether I was happy or not, what matters is that I shouldn't have married Lana in the first place. I caused enough damage with my never ending Lana obsession years ago, but it's time for the craziness to stop and the timeline to be put back the way it should be."

"I'm guessing you aren't happily married?" Chloe asked softly.

Clark shook his head minutely "No, I was at first and I'm not going to lie about that but I haven't been for a long time. What made it even worse is that for years I've been dreaming about the life that used to be mine and didn't even know it until Smallville arrived in my timeline. Jor-el told him it was my marriage that caused us to be split and the world to be changed and that's why we're here; to put right what I did wrong."

Smallville nodded softly "If we don't correct it my life and everything I had will always be gone, Clark's life will always be wrong and there will always be two of us. So we had to come here to make it right, because this is where it all originated from."

"By marrying Lana when I was a kid who didn't know what in the hell I was doing, I threw away both mine and Smallville's future. What's worse is that our lives aren't the only ones affected." Clark finished quietly.

Martha reached out, clasped a hand of each man and squeezed gently at the sadness in their eyes.

"I'm not a kid and I _know_ that marrying Lana would never be a mistake." Jerome replied angrily.

Ignoring him Clark continued "So that's our story in a nutshell."

"You said that other lives have been affected, can you tell us whose?"

The two men shook their heads, and gesturing for his twin to speak Smallville inclined his head and spoke firmly "We can't tell you that Chloe, we'll only tell you so much as it pertains to us, but not everything. The future is supposed to be unknown and although we don't anticipate that anyone will remember us even being here, we don't want to take the chance of potentially making things worse by revealing stuff we shouldn't."

"Ok, well can I at least ask you stuff and if you don't feel that it should be revealed just say so alright?" Both men nodded, and turning to Clark she cocked her head curiously "Since you and Smallville were the same man before you were split, does that mean you also love Lois?"

Clark nodded "Yes, and I'm sure you can imagine how awful I felt being in love with a woman who wasn't my wife..." The women both nodded "Well when I found out the truth, I didn't know whether to feel relieved to find out that I wasn't technically being unfaithful by loving and dreaming about Lois, or sad at finding out that she had been my fiancée and still would be if I hadn't married Lana."

"I could never love anyone but Lana." Jerome put in quietly and was once again ignored.

"You and Lois, that's kind of hard to get my head around." Chloe replied, looking between the men.

Both men smiled, but it was Smallville who answered "I guess it would be, not for us but for all of you and since Jerome is our younger counterpart, whether he wants to accept it or not, one day he'll feel the same way we do." Seeing the head shake from the corner of his eye, he sighed and continued "When I was 19, Lana married Lex but they got divorced a few months later. Afterwards she wanted us to get back together but I said no and left to do my training inst..."

"She wanted you back and you said no?" Jerome cut in incredulous.

"I wish she'd said no when I begged her to marry me." Clark muttered darkly.

The women bit their lips; Jerome threw him a dirty look once again.

"Yeah, I was the lucky one." Smallville knocked his twin's arm with his before turning back to the others, and ignored the dirty look now being thrown in his direction too "Anyway after my training I travelled for three years, and got my journalism degree by correspondence. Then I came back to America, got a job at the DP and became partners with Lois. It took nearly two years, but I finally convinced her to date me..." He pursed his lips and shrugged "Ok, truthfully I had to lie to her to get her to date me, but once she said yes there was no way I was letting her go. So we dated for a year, moved in together a month after she finally fell for all the lures that I'd been throwing out for the previous three years..." he grinned cheekily "...and five months later she asked me to marry her."

"She asked you?" Martha asked with a soft smile.

He grinned and nodded "Mmm hmm, well I asked her first but she said that we weren't ready. However, five months later when she felt that we were, she asked me."

"She asked me too." Clark chimed in, and when they turned to him, he lifted his chin proudly "Well she did. That was of course before my life went to hell in a hand basket, but since Lo was my fiancée before we were split, she asked me too."

Smallville rolled his eyes "This is what I've had to put up with." He grinned good natured at his twin, but nodded all the same "But he's right of course, since we were one man before he married Lana, Lo was both of our fiancée."

Jerome decided it was time to get off the subject he didn't want to hear any more about "Ok so why do we need to get Lois out of the hospital?"

"One thing we didn't know back in 2007...sorry I know it is 2007 now, but for me that's 8 years ago..." Smallville blew out a deep breath and shook his head "If I get the tenses mixed up just ignore it ok?" They nodded in understanding "Ok, well when Lo was in the Medical Centre back in 2007, we didn't know it at the time, but..."

"But what honey?"

He looked at his mom and swallowed hard "Last month when Jo was in my fiancés body, she did go back on the second day. We had just finished dinner and Jo started to feel...weird; it's the only way I can explain it. Anyway, she was gone for a few minutes and Joanne returned."

Chloe didn't like the cast to his features and asked shakily "How?"

He pressed his lips together and tried to smile "Joanne returned and died."

"Are you saying that my cousin's going to die tonight?" She felt the sob crawl up her throat and kept her eyes locked onto his looking for hope. Martha reached out and picked up Chloe's left hand, Jerome her right.

Smallville quickly shook his head "No Chlo, she did but a few minutes later Jo was back and she was fine. Afterwards we all talked about it because we knew that nothing like that had happened back in 2007. However, you suggested that I should appropriate Lois' medical records to find out if she'd had an episode, and the staff just hadn't told us about it. So I did and that's when we found that on the second day, Lo's chart did show two blips, but the only way I could distinguish them from the normal pattern was with micro-vision. Obviously no one even noticed at the time, but that's when we figured that it was Joanne they were after. We weren't sure if Jo had just been caught up in it by accident, or if whoever had done this was trying to get rid of Lois long before Clark and Superman were a part of her life, but she was ok afterwards, and it never happened again."

"Ok, but that doesn't explain why you want to take Lois out of the Medical Centre." Chloe took a deep breath and continued quietly "If something's going to happen, then isn't the hospital the best place for her?"

"Jo was barely affected Chloe, so her being in the hospital won't make any difference." Clark put in gently.

"But that still doesn't explain why you want to take her out." She returned stubbornly.

"Chloe look, I understand your apprehension but the person who did this to Lo used magic. We managed to attain their book, and with the help of a couple of friends, we've also got the spell this person used to go back into the past and change our lives, which is how we were able to come here now. Of more importance right now, we also have the spell that was done on Lois." Their eyes grew wide, he inclined his head "So we can all go to the medical centre, and bring Lo out of her coma at least, then the doctors can check her over and pronounce that she's fine. When she woke up in 2007 the doctor wanted her to stay for a little while just to ensure she was ok, so we stayed and kept her company, but we know now that's not necessary. However, the only thing is that every version of Lois; and I mean Jo, Joanne and Lois in 2007 were affected once they started moving around."

"Affected how?" Martha asked puzzled.

"Lois was fine when she woke up in 2007; my 2007 I mean, Jo was fine when she arrived in 2015, and Joanne was fine when she came back last month. However, shortly after they started moving around all three of them felt tired and sick, but that soon passed." He looked at all saw they understood and continued "So we can go and wake her up, then all but one person can wait outside the Medical Centre so that no one sees us, and the person who's pretending to visit with Lo can call the nursing staff, tell them that she's awake, the doctor can check her over and then we can all come back here."

"We only have your word for everything, so how do we know that whatever you want to do isn't intended to hurt Lois instead of waking her up?" Jerome asked bluntly.

Smallville pulled out his wallet, opened it and handed it to his mom.

Martha looked at the picture and tears filled her eyes before they lifted to her son's "Oh sweetie."

Chloe gently took the wallet from Martha's hand, saw the picture and felt simultaneously glad and hurt. Seeing her cousin, obviously older but thankfully alive caused happiness to lift her heart, seeing the look on Clark's face for her cousin hurt but also helped her to finally accept that he would never look at her like that. She'd never seen him look at anyone like that; not even Lana.

Jerome took the wallet and his head began to shake back and forth. This wasn't possible; the only way that he could ever be the man in this picture, was if the girl in his arms was Lana.

"Do you really believe that I would ever hurt Lois?" Smallville's voice dropped quietly in to the room, and all three shook their heads automatically.

Chloe pushed aside everything but what was most important to her "Let's go wake her up."

oOo

Chloe walked into the front entrance of the Medical Centre, spoke to the nurse for a few minutes and after finding out how long it would be before the staff made their rounds, proceeded to her cousin's room and swiftly pulled down the blinds once inside. After ensuring the coast was clear, the others entered through the back entrance, and slipped into the room minutes later.

"The nursing staff have already changed shifts and done the rounds, so their next lot of rounds isn't for a couple of hours. However, we still have to be quick because as you know in a hospital there's always someone popping in or out." Chloe informed them all.

"That's fine Chlo, hopefully this won't take long." Clark told her softly.

They all stood around Lois' bedside looking down at the sleeping occupant. Chloe brushed the hair from her cousin's brow and looked at the men "She's going to be surprised seeing you guys."

Smallville grimaced lightly, ran a hand around the back of his neck and sighed "I know but we don't anticipate that anyone's going to even remember Clark and I were here after we leave, so it should be ok."

Chloe picked up her cousins hand and shook her head amused "So while I've been worrying myself sick, Lo's been having a high old time in the future huh?"

"I wouldn't say she's been having a high old time exactly. When she found out we were engaged, she kinda hit the roof." At the relief on Jerome's face and the amusement on the women's, Smallville nodded feelingly "Yeah, let's just say that she was so desperate to get rid of me that if she had the funds, I've no doubt she would have bribed Lana to take me of her hands."

The women giggled, Jerome sniggered in amusement, Clark coughed and Smallville just patiently rolled his eyes "So although I'm glad to be waking Lois up now, I'm not really looking forward to listening to her screeching at me again when she her finds out we're engaged in the future."

Chloe swallowed back her laughter and looked between the two men "Are you going to leave straight after waking Lo up?"

"No, we have to stay for at least 24 to 36 hours before we can go back, but we think it's best if we don't leave until tomorrow night just to be on the safe side." Smallville lied readily.

"Why do you have to hang around?" Jerome asked curiously.

Clark shrugged casually "It's something to do with the spell that we don't really understand. Travelling through time isn't easy on the body which is why Lois was always affected, so we think it's got something to do with that. Anyway we were advised not to come here and then rush back just in case."

Chloe and Jerome nodded readily, Martha smiled but knew that both her older son's had just lied through their teeth. However, she also knew they'd only do so if they had good reason. Deciding to let it go for now, she determined to talk to them both later to ascertain just what that reason was.

"Do you think she'll remember that she was in the future with you?" Chloe asked softly.

"No, she didn't have any memories when she woke up in 2007, so she shouldn't have any now." Smallville reassured his friend.

"Actually she was only in the future with Smallville, well with me too since we weren't split at the time but..." Clark stopped and rolled his eyes "...Gees this is hard to explain. I don't have clear memories of Jo being in the future either, so out of the three of us, Smallville's the only one who will."

"Why don't you?"

"I don't know; I have memories of almost every moment of my life before it was changed, but some things have been lost and I just can't remember them." Clark replied regretfully.

Martha knew this was something her son wasn't lying about, and smiled at him sympathetically.

Smallville looked at all present "Are you ready?" When they nodded, he turned to Clark "This shouldn't take long, but can you keep an ear out to ensure no one's coming?"

He bobbed his head, Smallville slipped the book out of the bag, turned to the spell, read it quietly to himself a couple of times to ensure he had the wording right, and began.

He'd no sooner finished speaking then Lois' lashes fluttered, her eyes opened, and looked at all the face's surrounding her bedside "Um...what?"

"Lo are you ok?" Chloe asked shakily.

"I'm fine sweetie." She squeezed her cousins hand, while her eyes continued to move between the three men "Um Chlo, have I been hit on the head again? I only ask because I'm seeing one young, and two older Clark's."

They all smiled in response.

"You're not seeing things dear, there are three Clark's here, one younger and two older." Martha informed her cheerfully.

"Ok, so can I ask a couple more questions?" She asked politely, and at their encouraging nods, reached for the control button to lift herself to a sitting position before looking at each person in turn "Chloe why do you look like a kid, what's with the young Clark and which older version am I engaged to?"

"Lo..." Smallville asked tremulously.

"Uh huh, my name is Lois and your name is Clark..." She began slowly.

"Baby it's me."

"You're my Clark?" He nodded, she grinned "Ok, you are officially the weirdest guy I've ever met. It's not enough that you're an alien, now you have a twin and a mini-me."

He laughed and grasped her free hand in one of his "He's not a mini-me, just a younger me."

"Only you." She rolled her eyes and smiled at Martha "Does his weirdness ever end?"

Martha giggled and shook her head, patting her younger son on the shoulder when he protested with a loud "Mom."

Lois smiled at all present "So what's going on?"

"Babe, remember when you were unconscious in the Medical Centre for five days?" She nodded "That's now."

"Huh?"

"It's 2007 Lo."

"Excuse me?"

"We're in 2007."

She sighed and shook her head "This could only happen in Smallville. Ok well this explains why there's a younger Chloe, Martha and Clark, but not how we got here and why you have a twin..." When his mouth opened, she held up a hand "I just have one question, if we're in 2007 are we going to remember being here when we get home?"

"We don't think so." Clark replied with a smile.

Lois smiled back "Ok, you're a mystery to me. I can explain everyone else but I know that Clark doesn't have a twin, so who are you?"

"I'm..." He trailed off and shrugged uneasily.

Smallville smiled and took over "He's me Lo but it's hard to explain in two minutes, so how about we get you out of here and we'll tell you everything back at the farm?"

"Ok, and um...you really don't think we're going to remember being here?" She confirmed, and at his head shake smiled "Good, because I have a feeling that I'm going to need 'you know what' just to get through this, so go and buy me some."

"Some what?" Smallville teased.

Lois shook her hand free, grabbed him by the shirt collar, pulled him down and whispered "If you don't want to sleep on the couch for the rest of your life, you won't taunt me but just go and get them."

"I'm going now baby." He smiled and pecked her nose with his lips before straightening up "Chloe's going to stay here with you, and let the nursing staff know that you're awake. Mom and Jerome..." He pointed to each in turn "I'm Smallville, he's Clark, and he's Jerome. Anyway, mom and Jerome will come back, but Clark and I will wait outside because we don't want anyone to see us." She nodded in agreement "Lo, more than likely the doc's going to want you to stay for a couple of hours, just to make sure that you're alright..."

"Well if you know that I'm alright, then I'm not staying." She cut in firmly.

His lip crooked up "You're fine, you'll probably feel a little sick and sleepy later but otherwise you're good."

"Ok so shoo, everyone out, Chlo call the doctor in and let's go." They all began making tracks but turned back at her call "You're all sweet to be here, thank you." They smiled and nodded, and turned to go again but stopped at her voice "I want to hear everything."

"Of course you do." Smallville grinned before stepping out the room with the others.

Smiling at her cousin Lois squeezed her hand "So you're 19?"

Chloe smiled and took the seat beside her cousin "Yeah."

"I guess finding out that I'm engaged to Clark was kind of a surprise huh?" She asked gently.

"Yeah it was but Lo I'm just so glad that you're alright that I don't care about anything else." Chloe reached over and plucked out a tissue "I was so scared that I was going to lose you that it made me realise what a jerk I've been."

"You weren't a jerk Chlo..." At her cousin's scepticism, Lois smiled "Ok, you were a little bit of a jerk, but I remember when I woke up 8 years ago, you said almost the same thing to me then. I know for you it's only a couple of days since you were kind of offhand with me, but for me it's been years, and we've been closer than ever since then. So when I look at you now, I don't see the cousin who's been distant, I see my best friend."

Chloe reached over and hugged her cousin hard "I love you Lo. I can't be happy this happened to you, but maybe this fright was just the kick in the pants that I needed."

Lois giggled softly "I love you too."

Leaning back the two girls smiled "I'll call the nurse now ok?"

Lois nodded and after pressing the buzzer, Chloe turned to smile when the door swung open and the nurse walked in to find the patient awake.

oOo

While waiting for Chloe to call and give the all clear, Martha and her three sons waited in the car, which was parked out of sight from the Medical Centre. She wanted to smile and laugh at the same time. Lois was awake and she was going to be just fine, and her son wasn't going to marry Lana Lang. Knowing how determined her son was, she'd worried about that for a long time. All she'd been able to do before now was hope that his estrangement from Lana lasted until he got over his enthrallment with the girl, and now having proof that he did, that Clark wasn't going to waste his life chasing after a girl who enjoyed hurting him just because she could, made Martha feel like she could breathe easily for the first time in years.

Her cheer didn't last for long when conversation started and she was reminded that at the moment, she had one son who was still bewitched by Lana and two who weren't, so world war three was inevitable.

"I don't think anyone should tell Lana we're here or that we woke Lois up. The best solution is just to get Chloe to tell her that Lo's awake and everything's fine." Smallville suggested quietly to his mom and two brothers

"Why?" Jerome asked with an unhappy frown "Lana already knows that I keep secretes from her, so why do I have to hide this too."

"Firstly because it's none of her business, any more than her continual demands to know everything that's going on in our life is her business and secondly, because I just asked everyone not to." He replied calmly.

"She doesn't want to know _everything_;she just thinks that I don't trust her because I've been hiding stuff from her." Jerome shot back.

"She's a damn sticky beak who should learn to mind her own." Smallville shot back just as fast.

"She's entitled to ask me questions, I was..." Jerome began only to be cut off

"Oh yeah, and where does it say that; in the gospel according to Lana?" Smallville asked sarcastically.

"I was her boyfriend so she..." He began again only to get cut off again.

"Lana began harassing me for every tiny detail of my life **YEARS** before I was even close to being her boyfriend." Clark announced blandly "In fact, while dating other guys she still sleazed onto me to find out what I was hiding. What in the hell gave her the right to think that everything about me, including what I did, said or thought was any of her business, I don't know? Unfortunately I was too much of a wimp to tell her to mind her own back in the day. However, having been married to her for 8 years, I no longer have that problem." He finished in a voice full of assurance.

"She didn't sleaze onto me, she was just being friendly." Jerome hissed fiercely.

Smallville and Clark burst out laughing.

"Oh yeah she was just being a _**friend**_." Clark remarked snidely before turning to his twin "Hey Smallville, when was the last time you were that friendly with a girl but weren't sleazing onto her."

"Let me think." He tapped his finger against his chin for a moment "Oh I know, it was with Lana. I mean it wasn't like I was hitting on her for years trying to be her boyfriend or anything. No, no, no I just wanted to be her buddy, her pal, y'know a _friend_, like she was with me."

Jerome flushed brick red "She WAS just being a friend and getting back to the point, she doesn't like people lying to her so..."

"But her scruples aren't so rigid when it comes to telling lies herself." Smallville cut in smoothly.

When Jerome's mouth opened, Martha held up her hands for peace "Boys _**please**_, look this is getting us nowhere..." She turned to Jerome and picked up his hand "Sweetie, don't tell Lana. At the moment she's hurt and not inclined to listen to anything you say. And if you do tell her, then she'll just start asking a lot of questions that you won't be able to answer because it will be about the future. So she'll just go away thinking that you're still lying and hiding stuff from her, which won't make things any better, just worse."

He sighed harshly but nodded "Ok, besides I can't tell her that in the future I obviously lose my mind and become engaged to Lois..." he shot his older brothers a dark look "...even if it only lasts until I can think of a way to get out of it."

"On second thought maybe you should tell her after all." Without giving him time to answer, Smallville turned to his twin and asked with a jeer "Hey Clark, how loud do you think Lana will screech when she finds out that Skipper finally grows a brain and tells her to bugger off, in favour of a woman ten times her worth?"

Clark smiled big and wide "Really loud, she certainly didn't like it when I told her that."

"My name's not Skipper." Jerome ground out between clenched teeth "And Lois could never ever replace Lana."

"You mean that Lana will never ever come **close** to even being in Lois' league." Clark returned conversationally before turning to his twin "What are the odds are of Lois dumping us after meeting him again?"

Smallville smiled smugly in return "Not much, she's already said that she couldn't love me if I was still like him, so we're pretty safe."

Martha rubbed her brow and when the phone rang, picked it up gratefully. After a quick conversation she clicked off and turned to her three sons "That was Chloe, she said that it's safe for us to pretend like we've just arrived, as she pretended to duck out and call us 15 minutes ago." She paused and looked at each Clark in turn "Now, I want peace and no more arguing from any of you; CLEAR!"

They all nodded obediently, she inclined her head and turned to the men in the back "Can you please pass me the bag we packed for Lois sweetie." Clark handed the bag which contained a change of clothes "Thank you; will you two meet us back at the farm?"

"I have to go and buy the cigarettes that Lois wants, but that'll only take me a minute. However, as Clark and I need somewhere to sleep, we'll go ahead and get mattresses and bedding set up in the barn, and meet you back at the farm if that's ok."

"That's fine sweetie, you both know where everything is." Martha replied with a smile at each man in turn.

"As if I'd ever date a girl who smokes" Jerome muttered under his breath.

Martha shot her younger son a look, he ducked his head and the two older ones sneered at him before climbing out of the car.

oOo

Returning to the farm, the two men got the mattresses and bedding set up in the loft before making the short trek to the house. Stepping into the kitchen, Clark turned at his twin "They're going to want coffee when they get back; so can you make up a tray while I put the kettle on."

Nodding Smallville got the cups and set them on the island, stepped over to the fridge to get the milk, and stopped to throw a smile over his shoulder at his twin's next words.

"I wasn't expecting it to be Lois, our Lois I mean."

"Neither was I but for the first time something seems to be going our way." He replied happily and continued with his task.

Clark bobbed his head falteringly, filled the kettle and after setting it on the stove leant against the sink "I feel...I'm kind of nervous." He admitted hesitantly.

At the tone, Smallville quickly finished making up the tray, before likewise leaning against the island "Why?"

"Because the Lois I'm familiar only saw me as a friend who was happily married to Lana. I've always had to hide how I felt about her, and the one time I told her was only yesterday; after which she said no, wished me all the best and left to go home to Oliver." He sighed and scrubbed a hand through his hair "Even though I know the Lois who's here is the real one since she's from the original timeline before all this madness started, the one I was with yesterday seems more real to me because she was the one from my reality, not my dreams; do you know what I mean?"

"Yeah I do." Smallville nodded in understanding "So do you feel awkward, shy or nervous?"

"All three; I feel like I'm in a waking dream and on the hand I want to wake up and go back to what's familiar because even though I was unhappy, at least I could still imagine that one day it would all work out and I'd somehow be with Lois. On the other hand I never want to wake up again because this is the first time I'll be spending time with the Lois who remembers everything that I've only dreamt about." He took a deep breath before continuing in a rush "This Lois loves Clark Kent but I'm not really the Clark that she knows, and if she doesn't like me then I can't...I won't even be able to imagine that it'll all work out anymore because it's **her** that's saying no and..."

"Clark she'll like you. Even as the Lois you were familiar with she liked you; her feelings just didn't go any deeper than that." Smallville cut in to remind him gently.

"I know but..." He nodded and blew out a deep breath "I feel more nervous now than the first time I asked Lana on a date when I was 15."

"Well you've come a long way since then and you've known Lois for years so just be yourself, ok?" Smallville prompted with a smile.

He nodded again before giving a tiny smile "She's not going to regard me in the same way that she does you."

"Clark..." He began to protest but stopped knowing that his twin was right.

"It's ok."

"You might be wrong."

Clark shook his head "I'm not wrong. In the hospital when Lois asked which one of us was her fiancée, you automatically stepped forward and claimed that title, while I automatically stepped back."

"I guess that's something we're both used to doing huh?"

"Yeah, it's funny isn't it? In my timeline I was more comfortable with Lois because I'd never known her any other way except in my dreams but this time you're more relaxed, because this is the Lois you know in reality."

"True, but I handled it and you will too." Smallville rubbed a hand around the back of his neck "Anyway, of more importance right now we have to figure out what we're going to do before the others get back."

"What'd you mean?"

"Well we're here and we know that Lo's safe right?" His twin nodded "Ok, but if older Lana; your wife I mean is going to turn up in the next day or so, then she's going to figure out pretty quickly that something's up when she finds out that Lois isn't in the medical centre."

Clark bobbed his head in accord "She'll know we're here."

"She'd have to be stupid not to." Smallville frowned for a moment "In which case she might decide to abandon her plans and leave figuring there's no point in hanging around since we're here, but..."

"But you think that she'll stay and still try to get young Lana and Jerome back together correct?" At his twins nod, Clark nodded in turn "Well I can tell you that you're right. I know Lana almost as well as I know myself by now, and I can tell you that she's just as persistent in getting what she wants, as we used to be in our pursuit of her."

Smallville huffed out a small laugh "Oh I figured out that she was persistent when J'onn found us in the fortress and told us that she was missing. I mean she's tried and failed twice now after we've both rejected her in one form or another, so it's clear that she won't just call it quits and give in gracefully."

"No she won't. As I said before I know her very well, so I can tell you that us being here won't stop Lana from at least trying." Clark agreed without hesitation.

Smallville scratched his chin "Well maybe that's what we need to allow her to do." At his twin's surprise, he shrugged fatalistically "If we try to stop her now, more than likely she'll just come back again after we've left, and god only knows what'll happen to our lives after that. However, if we give her the opportunity while we're here, then in a way it will be on our terms. We'll be able to keep an eye on Jerome, and take care of any damage control that's needed, so it'll only appear as if she's getting a chance."

"True and we've got the upper hand since I know Lana and we both know Jerome; we just have to remember not to trust him." At his twins raised brows, Clark grimaced "I mean trust him to make the right choice. We can talk all day about Lois and our feelings and our life with her, but he's not going to care about that. Neither is he going to care about how his choice will affect our lives or his future. Right now all he sees is Lana; all he believes is that he's going to love her forever."

"He thinks that he knows better than us even though we've lived it and he hasn't." Smallville concluded thoughtfully "Ok, so we'll let Lana have her shot because if we don't this merry go round will never stop, but what are we going to do about Jerome? As you said, he's got Lana on the brain right now, so if he has even half a chance of getting her back he'll take it."

"Well if I have to knock him out with Kryptonite, and then pretend to be him, so that I can tell Lana to get lost when she comes around to con him into eloping, I'll do it." Clark replied swiftly.

"Why do you get to play the role of Jerome if it comes down to doing that?" Smallville asked with a frown.

"Because I'm the sucker who fell for her crap the last time she came back, and was stuck with her for 8 years afterwards. So this time it'll give me great pleasure telling her to take a hike and doing it in such a way that from this point forward, she'll never come sniffing around me, or any version of me ever again."

Smallville threw back his head in laughter "If that happens I'm going to listen in and I don't care how rude it is."

"Well I think you deserve the opportunity to enjoy listening to her squeal in dismay after what she's done, so feel free." Clark replied cheerfully.

Smallville's lips twisted "The only problem with that scenario is that your wife will probably figure out it was one of us, and encourage young Lana to try again."

"Uh huh, but for it to work its still young Lana who has to convince Jerome in her sincerity, but considering she's only used to Clark Kent sucking up to her, how much do you think she'll like knowing that when he gets older he'll be me; a man who has no compunction in telling her to go to hell?"

"She won't like it and won't be inclined to try again, but that just might spur your wife into coming back and trying again after we leave."

Clark frowned thoughtfully "Hmm, well in that case I'll just turn young Lana down nicely in a Jerome like way, but will still be firm enough that my wife will believe it was him and accept defeat."

"Ok, but we'll only do that as a last resort. As we said earlier this is where everything originated from, so this is where it has to be broken. In which case as this is Jerome's timeline and we're just visitors, more than likely it's him who has to tell Lana no." Clark nodded in agreement, Smallville tapped his chin and continued "We'll have to tell Lois everything but I'm not sure about the others."

"Well so far we've only told them the bare bones and they won't be expecting to hear much, because we've already told them we can't take the chance of someone remembering anything about the future after we leave." Clark frowned and finished pensively "However, maybe telling them some of it will be useful; nothing that will impact the future but enough to hopefully get through to Jerome. Even if he doesn't want to believe us, he won't be able to help thinking about it."

Smallville nodded reluctantly "And we can't expect him to understand if we don't tell him anything." He paused and finished "Ok, we'll try and get through to him but I'm not going to let some snotty nosed brat fuck up my life just because he wants to hold onto his Lana fantasy. So if it comes down to it, then you'll pretend to be Jerome when she comes around to butter him up, deal?"

Clark nodded firmly in accord.

The men were so engrossed in their conversation they only realised the others were back at the sound of multiple car doors slamming. After sharing one last look of solidarity, they opened the back door and welcomed all home with a smile.


	6. Chapter 6

Hi everyone

Apologies for taking so long to post this chapter, I meant to do so before Christmas but got caught up in the holiday frivolities and working on another story. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy it and thank you for the continued feedback.

Belated Happy New Year to all :-)

Linda

oOo

**Chapter 6**

Once everyone was seated at the table nursing cups of coffee, Martha smiled at her future daughter in law "Lois dear, you haven't had any breakfast, would you like some?"

"Please, I don't care what it is but I'm hungry."

"We had oatmeal." The older woman smiled.

"That's fine, I just want something to fill the hole in my stomach." She smiled, pushed her hair back and scowled "This is annoying."

"What?"

"All this hair; I'd cut it off if I wasn't in my younger self's body."

"You have short hair?" Chloe asked surprised.

"No it's not short, but not this long either." She replied and twirling her hair, tucked it up into a sloppy bun "That's better."

"How'd you get your hair up without any pins?" Jerome asked puzzled.

"Magic." She laughed tongue in cheek "I just tucked it underneath. It's fine for now but I'll tie it up properly later."

Taking the proffered bowl that was held out she bobbed her head "Thanks Martha." At the surprise on the woman's face, Lois let out a small laugh "Not used to it huh?" At the older woman's head shake, she supplied helpfully "Well at your request I've been using your first name for a while now, but if it feels weird I can call you Mrs Kent again."

"It's ok dear; I just have to remember that although you look like our Lois, you're actually older."

Lois rolled her eyes "Well I had a hell of a shock when I saw myself in the mirror, and seeing all of you looking younger and two of my fiancée is really disconcerting." Her brow wrinkled "It's weird as hell feeling like you went to sleep in Kansas but woke up in Oz."

Smallville grinned and patted her hand "Well it's strange for me to see my fiance looking so young."

She rolled her eyes in Jerome's direction and nodded "Ditto."

Sitting back content after finishing her breakfast, Lois picked up her cup, sipped the coffee and sighed in contentment.

Chloe looked at her cousin and smiled "I'm so glad that you're ok Lo."

"I'm fine sweetie." She smiled back.

"Listen Chlo, we don't want Lana to know that we're here, so can you just call and tell her that Lo woke up and is alright now?" Smallville asked coaxingly.

"Yes, so you don't have to try and bamboozle me with a charming smile." She replied tartly.

"You think I have a charming smile." He grinned back.

"She's probably just weak from hunger, right cuz?"

Chloe giggled and shook her head "Nah he does have a charming smile, he just doesn't normally waste it on me."

The women snickered, Jerome flushed and the two older Clark's cleared their throats noisily.

"Lo..." Her brow cocked up "Lana will probably come over to see you later, so you'll have to pretend to be '20 year old Lois'."

"Great, thanks." She huffed lightly then brightened "Chloe when you call her, just tell her that I'm resting and I'm not to be disturbed; doctors orders."

"She just wants to see how you are Lois." Jerome reproved her quietly.

She snorted lightly and mumbled in return "You mean she just wants an excuse to come over and see you."

He pressed his lips together but didn't respond.

Chloe bit back a smile and got to her feet "I'll call her now so that she's not worrying about you unnecessarily." Retrieving her phone, she made the call and re-took her seat a few minutes later "She's glad that you're ok Lo and mentioned that she might stop by later."

Jerome smiled wide and ignored the eye rolling of his two older selves.

Martha looked around at all those assembled and wondered how long peace was going to reign. She was expecting World War three to break out, and wondered just who was going to be the casualties in the end.

She felt sorry for her young son but at the same time felt glad that at last there were two people who weren't going to bother dancing around the subject of Lana. Usually when anyone talked to Clark about putting the girl behind him and moving on, they used the softly softly approach. But it was apparent that both the older men had seen through Lana's slyness, and had no intention of taking it easy on their younger 'brother'. Whether they'd gained insight through maturity and/or experience, or whether the girl had finally just pushed them too far and they'd had enough, whatever the reason they weren't inclined to be tolerant about her, or bashful in sharing their views of her.

Unfortunately her younger son was so infatuated with Lana that he wasn't inclined to hear a word spoken against her nor entertain any negative thoughts about her. However, before now he'd also never spoken to two older and wiser hims. Martha didn't want them to fight but expected it to happen and further felt that it would be worth it if in the end her youngest son was finally, finally free of the thrall Lana Lang had him in.

oOo

Lana put down the phone and turned to smile at Lex "That was Chloe; she said that Lois is awake and feeling fine."

He smiled in return and nodded "That's good, why don't you go and see her."

"I will but I have some more wedding details that I have to go over with the co-ordinator so I'll go after we're done."

Hearing the slight sigh in her voice, he cocked his head "Lana you don't have to worry about all the details, that's the co-ordinators job. Just tell him what you want and leave it in his hands." At her head shake, he nodded "Well if you change your mind just let him know ok?"

"I will, but even though it's tiring I'm enjoying it. I know that men aren't really interested in all the nitty gritty details, but women are."

He grimaced "I don't see how you can be."

"I don't see how you can be interested sitting in meetings all day." She replied with aplomb.

"It's a necessary evil in business, and speaking of which I'd better get going." Getting to his feet, he retrieved his briefcase, then picked up his coffee and gulped down the last of the contents "I'll see you tonight."

"See you."

After kissing her quickly, he strode from the room and left the house.

The moment he was gone the smile slipped from her face. Pouring herself another cup of coffee from the carafe, she sipped and sat back with a sigh. Yesterday was the first time she'd talked to Clark in months. The conversation had been short since he'd only come to the mansion to question Lex about Lois' condition, but being near him had caused her more inner conflict then she'd expected.

She'd stepped into the room, seen him and everything that she'd be feeling over the past few months came flooding back; the love, the anger, the misery and the wanting. When he'd told them about Lois and she realised that he hadn't come for any personal reason, she'd also felt dejected. Even worry over her friend's condition hadn't banished all of her disappointment which lingered even now. She was angry at herself for feeling it, but had to admit that it was there.

She loved Lex but the wanting for Clark hadn't ceased. She'd been with him only once, yet his amateurish love making had touched her more deeply than all of Lex's practiced moves.

Shaking her head to banish thoughts of disloyalty, her brow furrowed as she tried to understand how that could be, and smoothed out a moment later in comprehension. More than likely the only reason that was true was because Lex did have a lot of experience when it came to sex, which in turn just made her feel like the novice that she was. Lex was skilled, his words and moves exemplary but they left her cold inside. She enjoyed it there was no point in denying that, but she hated herself for thinking about Clark instead of Lex when she was in his arms. What in the hell was wrong with her that she wanted a guy who'd treated her so badly, and now only wanted her back because she was once again off the market?

Placing the cup down with a slight bang, Lana pushed thoughts of Clark Kent from her mind, took a quick look at her watch and felt pleased knowing that shortly she wouldn't have time to think of anything other than weddings.

When the door bell rang 15 minutes later, she made her way to the front door, and waving away the maid opened it with a smile. At the sight of the multitude of things the co-ordinator and his assistant were carrying, her eyes grew wide "All of that?"

"Yes, as you can see we have a lot of samples to show you, and we don't have much time left. So we really need to make some decisions to ensure that we'll have exactly what you want on the day..."

Smiling gamely in return, she ushered her guests into a small sitting room and got down to business.

Nearly three hours later, she blew out a deep breath after ushering them out of the house and felt exhausted. Good grief, she'd told Lex earlier that she liked knowing all the details but had never realised before just how tedious those details could be. How was it possible there were so many different types, styles, patterns and colours for place cards, table cloths, napkins, cutlery, crockery, glassware, and everything else that was needed just so that people could eat at the reception.

Well at least she could say that she was holding her own. It was common knowledge that even though it was a couple who was getting married, the wedding was really the bride's day to shine. In this case it was hard to believe since the groom was Lex Luthor and the bride a mere nobody. But at least this nobody was putting her stamp on the wedding with her taste and her style, right down to the napkins that she'd chosen.

Picking up her purse and car keys, she left the house grateful that she didn't have to think about wedding details for a few more days. She had another dress fitting but that wasn't until the end of the week, so for now her time was her own, and of first importance was going to visit Lois to ensure her friend was alright.

She was halfway to the Kent farm when her phone buzzed. Frowning lightly, she looked out the windshield, but at the continued ringing, dug it out of her purse and clicked it on "Hello."

"Hello Lana, I have to talk to you about Clark and it's pretty urgent, can you meet me?"

Her brow wrinkled deeply at both the tone and voice "Who is this?"

"A friend."

"Can you hang on for a minute I just have to pull over?" She put the phone down, drove to the side of the road, and turned off the ignition. After a little hesitation she picked it up, and put it back to her ear "Are you still there?"

"Yes."

"You said something about Clark..."

"I can tell you everything Lana; what he's been hiding, why he broke up with you and why he wants you back. Then it's up to you to decide what you want to do, but at least you'll have the truth."

She chewed her lip undecided.

This was the first time in her life she was being given this opportunity, and it could very well be the last. If she didn't take it then she'd never know, but if she could at least understand the why of everything then maybe she could put him behind her once and for all. The real question was; did she really want to get into all of this again?

She rubbed her brow and shook her head; no, she'd had enough "I don't care, not anymore."

"Ok then don't worry about it goodb..."

"WAIT!" She took another deep breath, and looked hard out the windshield "I want to know, but...and no offence intended, I'd prefer it if we met in public."

"We can do that and when you see who I am, you'll know that you can trust me. Afterwards we can go somewhere to talk alone, or if you want we can stay where other people are around but can't hear us."

Lana frowned deeper "Your voice sounds familiar. Do I know you?"

"Yes; so where do you want to meet?"

She thought about it for a moment before hitting on the solution "The public library. Since it's a school day one of the study rooms down near the back should be free, and hopefully there won't be an excess of traffic in the library itself."

"Ok, I'll see you there soon."

Clicking off the phone, she checked the rear vision mirror and finding no cars coming down the road, swung the wheel and headed into town.

Sitting in her car 25 minutes later, she looked at the building and tried to calm the butterflies in her stomach. She felt like an underhanded sneak for sticking her nose into Clark's business without his say so. Yet justified since it wouldn't have been necessary if he'd just trusted her enough to tell her himself. But overall that, the knowledge that she was finally going to find out what Clark had been hiding from her for years made her feel apprehensive. What she learnt here today could destroy their last chance of ever being together again, but she had to know. She'd told herself multiple times that it was over, had pretended there wasn't still a small place in her heart that was occupied with hope for them, but now that the moment of truth was at hand she was nervous.

Blowing out a deep breath, Lana picked up her purse and opened the car door. Walking into the library, she made her way directly to the back and after looking in the windows of the first two rooms, stopped outside the third when she saw a woman sitting alone with her back to the door. This had to be her; the woman wasn't reading, or studying, nor did she have the computer turned on. Taking one last deep breath, she tapped on the glass softly before opening the door and felt absolutely dumbfounded when the woman turned and took off her hat and glasses.

"What...who?"

"Yes Lana you're not seeing a ghost; I really am you...the older you."

She nodded insensibly, stepped back and held the door open "Let's go."

"Go where?"

"Away, anywhere so that no one will see you..." She thought for a moment then smiled hesitantly "I can't think of anywhere."

"I know a place that we can go, but you'll have to drive since I don't have a car."

"Ok."

The two left the library, and a short time later pulled up outside a house "Whose place is this?"

Older Lana opened the door, stepped out of the car and turned back "This will be your house in a few years, but at the moment it's vacant."

They went inside and after dusting of a couple of seats in the lounge room they sat down.

"How are you here?"

"I used magic Lana." Her older self sighed and gave a small smile "I actually came here in two days..."

"You mean two days ago?" Young Lana corrected.

Older Lana shook her head "No, I mean that I came here the day after tomorrow. I'm from the future Lana, and I wanted to come here to talk to you about Clark. However, I came back on what I know is the fourth day..." At the younger woman's confusion, she waved her hand "I'll explain in a minute. Anyway I came on the fourth day and drove to the Kent farm expecting to see you arrive, but when I saw Lois up and around, I knew that something had gone wrong."

"I'm sorry but I don't understand." She replied confused.

"I know; ok to bring you into the picture, here it is in a nutshell..." She took a moment and then began to speak "When I was 19, the age you are now, I was engaged to Lex when one day Clark came and told us that Lois was unconscious in the hospital. Now her condition lasted for 5 days and during that time, Chloe, Clark and I tried to discover what was wrong, but we never did. Anyway, on the fourth day Clark pleaded with me to marry him instead of Lex, but I said no because he still wouldn't tell me what he was hiding. However, a couple of hours later my older self came and told me everything about Clark, her life, the future, all of it; and what she revealed gave me the courage to go to him afterwards and we eloped that day."

"You're married to Clark?" Young Lana asked astonished "I saw your ring but just assumed it was Lex."

"No, my name is Lana Kent." She dug into her bag, pulled out two items and handed them to her "That's our marriage certificate, that's a small photo album with some snaps of us, and this..." She pulled out a chain from under her sweater "...this is his wedding ring."

Young Lana looked at the ring dangling on the chain, then looked at the certificate before taking her time and carefully looking through the album. Closing it gently, she looked at the certificate once more and lifted tear bright eyes to her companions face "It says that you were married on the 8 November 2007; that's the day after tomorrow."

"Yes, that was the fourth day Lois was in the hospital." She smiled sadly in return "When I decided to come here and talk to you, I arrived on November 8, the day of my marriage, but after seeing Lois up and around I called the hospital pretending to be her sister, and was told that she'd been released on the 6th. So I returned to my own time, and then came back here today." She paused for a moment and shrugged forlornly "I know who's responsible for Lois being awake, and I know they're going to be angry with me for coming, but I still think it's important for you to know the truth Lana. I'm hoping that after everything's been resolved, we can all be given a chance to live the life we're meant to, but either way I want us both to be free and we never will be unless we know the truth." She finished and swiped a hand over her eyes.

"I thought you knew the truth?"

"I know the truth about Clark, but I need to know if he really loves Lois or not."

"What!" Young Lana felt pole-axed by what she'd just heard.

Nodding unhappily her older self took a deep breath "I'm going to explain everything and it's going to take some time, so please be patient. We can talk afterwards, you can ask me any questions that you have, but just let me explain everything first, ok?"

She nodded, and as requested didn't interrupt once. After her counterpart was finished she sat back flabbergasted while her mind continued to tick over with thoughts of her, Clark and Lex in all their various couple and friend combinations. She felt whirl with emotions and didn't know where to begin separating how she felt only two hours ago, to how she should be feeling now that she knew everything. Given the abundance of information that she'd just received, confusion should be the dominant emotion but it wasn't. Fear and sadness were.

Learning about Clark and his alien origins was a surprise but didn't repel her. Lex's perfidy made her feel disgusted with herself for being so taken in by him. The various timelines and the number of ways in which she'd tried and failed to get Clark back made her feel wretched. Hearing about her marriage to Clark, from their initial happiness, to his despondency and eventual anger at her deception had caused a riot of emotions in her heart. Discovering that she could be so jealous and petty that she'd hurt Lois, actually run her off the road during the meteor shower which later resulted in Mr Kent's death caused her heart to hurt. Knowing that timeline was gone and she was the only one who now remembered it brought both relief and thankfulness. Understanding that the older Clark's were here now frightened her but it was Clark's future love for Lois that caused her the most anguish.

"Is the Lois who's at the farm now the older one, or the younger one?" She asked low voiced.

"The older one; she's the one who was engaged to Clark in the original timeline before I married him." Older Lana replied just as softly.

She raked her hair back and sighed heavily "Well now that she's awake, why don't the men just go back to the future? They must know how."

Older Lana's lips curved sadly "I can think of a several reasons but the most likely is that they're staying to ensure the cycle stops, since this is where it all began. Maybe they're hoping if they prevent young Clark from marrying you, that their lives will be fixed in the process. So don't intend to leave until they're assured it won't happen. That's only a guess, but it seems logical given the circumstances." She looked her younger self in the eye and continued "If Clark doesn't love you and I mean if he really doesn't; not because of Lois, Lex or anything else, then I agree with them. I've been through two timelines now where Clark fell in love with Lois, and a third that I don't even want to remember. I don't want to keep putting myself through this over and over; more, I don't want you to keep going through it. You are me Lana, and I want us both to be free."

"I'd like that too." She agreed faintly "For years I was able to push Clark aside but when I knew that I loved him, I also knew it was for good. After he broke my heart I tried so hard to convince myself that I'd get over him as easily as I did all my other boyfriends and I almost succeeded, but not quite." She wiped her eyes and smiled miserably in return "But if he really doesn't love me then I'd rather know now, instead of wasting my life going around in anymore circles."

"Yes." Older Lana reached out and touched her hand "But you have to be honest with him Lana. You have to tell him everything and not hold anything back. It's going to be hard and don't kid yourself that he won't angry, because more than likely he will be, but hopefully he'll also see that your love for him is true and won't fade with time." She swallowed the ball lodged in her throat "If after you've told him everything, if he doesn't want to take the chance knowing the future will be changed, then let him go. Let him go completely."

She nodded softly "Will you be staying?"

"Yes, and if he wants to talk to me he can. It's time for the truth, not just for him but for all of us."

"What about your husband and Smallville?"

Older Lana blew out a soft breath "I'm sure they're expecting me to turn up, but it's not the time for them to know that I'm here just yet. They might try to influence young Clark, but he's not easily swayed so that's something in our favour. But until we know how things stand, it's best if we keep my being here between ourselves."

"Well I doubt that Clark will be telling me that he has visitors, so keeping you a secret is only fair." She replied pragmatically "Where will you stay?"

"I'll stay here, the house was vacant before we bought it and the owners hardly ever came so I should be alright." She paused for a beat before asking softly "Um, I hate to ask but would you mind buying me some groceries. I didn't prepare like last time and when I checked the money I brought, I only had $20 that was printed before 2007 so..." She trailed off uncomfortably, and smiled in gratitude when young Lana nodded.

"Of course I will, and the shopping will be easy since I know what you like, but why don't you come with me and..."

"No, I can't take the chance that anyone will see me. Going to the library today was a big enough risk."

"Ok, well I'll go and get you some stuff. Do you want to cook or do you just want me to get you some pre-made meals?"

"Pre-made will do since I don't anticipate being her for more than a few days." She replied softly "Thank you."

"I'm happy to do it. I wouldn't let anyone go hungry, much less someone who just wants to help me, and even though everything you've said has left me feeling more than a little upset, I appreciate it all the same." She smiled shyly "Do you mind if I stay here with you?"

"I don't mind at all, but what are you going to tell Lex?"

"I'll just tell him that I'm nervous and need a few days by myself. That way he won't come looking for me, but neither will I have to stay with or see him." She shuddered lightly "God, I can't believe how stupid I've been about him."

"We were naive Lana and Lex is a very charming man. Also, and I don't mean to be condescending especially since I'm talking about myself, but compared to him you're a child when it comes to experience with the opposite sex." Older Lana reminded her gently.

Young Lana nodded heartily in agreement "You're right of course, I'm used to dealing with high school boys, and Lex is far from that." She picked up her purse and got to her feet "I'll go and get some groceries, and since we'll both be here I'm not getting pre-made anything. After that I'll go and get some of my things from the mansion, and come back here before I ring Lex." She shuddered once again "At least I had that meeting today with the wedding coordinator, so my excuse of being nervous will sound believable."

Older Lana stood likewise "Well we're both good cooks so whatever you get should be fine. The owners kept the house in good condition, but it'll still need a good dusting and maybe even a bit of cleaning in the rooms we'll be using, so I'll dig out some cloths and start on that."

"When I come back I'll give you a hand." Young Lana attempted to smile but found the effort difficult "You said that if Clark says no, that you'll go back to the future and reverse the spell taking everything back to the original timeline."

"Yes, if he says no then afterwards I'll return to the future, reverse the spell and no one will remember any of us being here. After that I'll reverse the spell so the timeline where I married Clark will be no more, and that will take us all back to the original timeline once again." She opened her mouth to continue but stopped at her younger counterparts the question.

"So Lois will once again be in the Medical Centre and wake up after 5 days?" Young Lana asked softly.

She nodded minutely "Yes, and I'll further ensure that I never have the desire nor the ability to ever try again."

"But if he says yes then all the Clark's will be merged back together and we'll go back to the original timeline, where Superman's around but this time Clark and I will be together and he won't love Lois or leave me for her."

"That's right, and once again no one will remember that anyone from the future was here, but Clark's heart and mind will no longer be in conflict. You won't be married to a man that loves you at first, but later loves and dreams of Lois or another life. However, that can only happen if no lies are told; none at all." She cocked her head and shrugged "Believe me, the one thing I've learnt is that deception will always be exposed, and then it's too late to try and mend anything."

"I want to know what he's going to say, but I'm scared to find out." Young Lana confessed softly.

"You're scared because you know that even if you won't remember me being here, this time it's final. I won't try again, you won't try and there won't be any more chances after this." Older Lana asked softly and wasn't surprised by the nod in return "I'm scared of the same thing too. The thought of losing Clark completely terrifies me but ..." She trailed off and smiled gamely.

Young Lana pulled her in for a hard hug "Hopefully that won't happen." At her twins nod, she let go and walked out of the lounge room into the hall and towards the front door "I have to stop in at the farm because I said that I would before I got your phone call, so I'll be a little while."

"That's ok, I'm not going anywhere."

"Um, I know this is probably silly but can one of us change our name..." At older Lana's lifted brow she flushed lightly "It feels funny calling someone else Lana."

"Taking a leaf out of Lois book huh? Well I have to agree with you, so why don't you call me Kate." Older Lana offered.

"I've always liked that name." Lana grinned in genuine delight.

"I know, but I've got first dibbs." Kate grinned back.

oOo

10 minutes later Lana pulled over to the side of the road, picked up her phone, pressed the button and waited for the line to be picked up "Hi Chloe, I'm still coming to see Lois, but since she's ok I thought that I'd come over later, is that alright?" At the affirmative reply she smiled gratefully "Thanks, unfortunately I got tied up with the wedding coordinator for several hours this morning, and now I need to run into town to get a few things before going home to organise some stuff, so I'm kind of running behind."

"That's ok Lana, we're not doing anything and Lois is fine so if you don't have the time to come today it's alright."

"I'd like to come and see her today but have a few things that need to get done. I was going to put them off until you called to tell me she's ok but..." At the interruption, she smiled "...well I'll still try and make it. If I can't I'll let you know, but for now just expect me around four-ish ok?" At the affirmative reply, she said goodbye and tossed the phone onto the seat next to her.

If she went now she wouldn't be able to pretend. She still felt bewildered by all the revelations that had been thrown at her earlier, and needed some time before facing everyone. Turning the car around she drove to town, and bought a few necessities before returning to the mansion to pack. Retrieving her suitcase, she threw in enough clothes for both herself and Kate, grabbed anything else that she felt was necessary and after ensuring the coast was clear, snuck out and returned to the house.

Stepping inside the door she shrugged casually at the surprise on Kate's face "I'm back."

"So I see, but I thought you were going to be awhile."

"That was the plan but I can't go to the farm right now or Clark will know something's up the minute he sees me."

Kate rolled her eyes feelingly "So will the older Clark's."

"Yeah, anyway I figure that mindless busy work will give me time to settle."

Kate nodded and eyed the lounge room "Well, we've got enough work here to keep you busy cleaning for at least an hour or two."

"That's exactly what I want." She smiled in return "But first would you mind helping me get the stuff out of the car; I have my suitcase, another bag full of stuff and some groceries."

Kate nodded and once the car was empty, she led the way to the master bedroom "Ok, well I was thinking that we can both sleep in here, and use the en-suite as well; then we'll only need to clean these two rooms plus the kitchen and lounge room; what'd you think?" Lana nodded in agreement. "Unfortunately we don't have any utilities." Kate told her with a light grimace.

Lana's face contorted in return "Well I'd still rather be here with you, than continue living with Lex."

Smiling in understanding Kate nodded "Can you give me a hand to haul the mattress outside; it needs a good airing before we sleep on it tonight."

"Uh huh..." She looked around then back at her twin "I've noticed that the house doesn't smell so dusty and closed up like it did earlier."

"I opened all the windows after you left, which is also why it's so damn cold in here."

Lana grinned "I'll go and buy us a small heater later."

The women managed to haul the mattress outside, and while Lana beat on it heartily sneezing and sputtering from the flying dust, Kate took the bedding and hung it on the clothes line before likewise giving it a good beating.

Once done the two women returned inside; one to the kitchen and the other to bedroom. Taking the milk and butter out of the bag, Kate opened the fridge and sighed "Of course the fridge isn't going to run without electricity." Making her way outside, she banged on the side of the tank and smiled in relief. The smile dropped off her face a moment later and lifting her eyes to the heavens, she walked inside, straight to the bedroom, and leant against the doorframe letting out a little cough to attract attention. When Lana paused in her task and looked up enquiringly, she smiled sheepishly in return "Heats not the only thing we don't have, we also don't have a fridge or a stove to cook on."

"Modern conveniences are great when you have utilities to run them; otherwise they're not very convenient are they?" Lana asked rhetorically "Don't worry about it. When I go later to buy the heater I'll also get us a camp stove that we can cook our meals on, but doesn't require electricity to work."

"You'd better buy a cooler and some ice as well since we don't have a fridge." She reminded her lightly then tacked on "Also some drinking water since we have no plumbing."

"Oh this will be fun. I'd suggest staying in a hotel but as you know Smallville doesn't have them." Lana smiled cheerfully.

Kate grinned in return "Well the good news is that we have a rainwater tank and it's at least half full. So all we have to do is hook a garden hose to the tap on the side of the tank and we can have a bath; but we'll need to boil the water first, or the baths we take will be cold. However, the plumbing situation has called to mind something that I forgot until now..." Lana nodded slowly at the half smile on her older counterparts face "The toilet is septic so..."

Lana gaped at her older counterpart "We don't have a sewered toilet?"

Kate shook her head "Clark and I had it put in when we bought the house but as that doesn't apply right now, septic is all we have." She paused for a beat then continued cheerfully "But hey, since we know that our grey-water isn't going to waste, no pun intended, we can hold our heads up proudly knowing that we're using the world's most natural resource; that being water, very conscientiously."

Lana closed her mouth, opened it then let out a hearty burst of laugher, Kate joined in and the two laughed until their sides hurt. After their mirth had calmed they got back to the business of vigorously cleaning the house, and two hours later sat down at the kitchen table satisfied.

"I think we've done pretty good." Kate exhaled loudly in exhaustion.

"I agree but we need to bring the mattress back inside, and make the bed now or we'll be too tired to bother later."

"I'm tired now."

"Me too." Lana smiled in commiseration.

30 minutes later, they flopped down side by side onto the bed with tired sighs.

"How about we have a nice hot cup of coffee?" Lana suggested pleadingly.

"No drinking water or electricity." Kate reminded her tiredly.

She rolled her eyes "If I don't get up now I'll never move again and I still have to go and buy the stuff we need." Sitting up she looked down at her twin "Why don't you have a shower, and I'll have one when I come back."

Kate shook her head "I can't have a shower only a bath, and since its winter I'll freeze to death if we don't boil some water first." When Lana nodded slowly in recollection, she asked softly "Are you sure that you still want to stay here with me; I'll understand if you've changed your mind."

"I don't care what we do or don't have; I still prefer to stay here with you then at the mansion or anywhere else." Lana replied honestly.

Kate nodded in understanding and patted her hand "Well then why don't you call Lex and get it over with; for now I'll just go and fill up a bowl with some water and have a quick wash before lying down for a bit."

"The waters going to be cold Kate." She protested.

"I know, but I'm feeling hot from all the cleaning we've done so I'll be ok."

"I know you probably feel yucky at the moment so do I, but if you can wait until I come back then you can have a nice warm bath instead..." She smiled at the agreeing nod she received in reply, before her lips twisted in distaste "Right now I'd better call Lex. I don't want to talk to him but if I put it off then I'll have to go and see him later and I definitely don't want to do that. At least while he's in Metropolis I only have to talk to him on the phone and not see his face."

Kate bobbed her head in empathy "I can call him for you if you like?"

She smiled gratefully but shook her head "No, you've been through enough misery, and I'm not going to dump this task onto you as well, I'm going to tell him."

Kate smiled at the fierceness in the girls voice "I've had some miserable times Lana, but believe me when I say that I don't regret marrying Clark."

"Not even now that he's left you?"

She sat up and shook her head "No; his leaving hurt and his feelings for Lois hurt, but I love Clark and I can't regret the happiness we had however fleeting it was. I just wish that I hadn't used deceit; maybe without that things wouldn't have gone so wrong."

Lana nodded sympathetically "Well anyway I'm going to call Lex, but thank you for offering."

Kate patted her hand "If you say something like you're feeling overwhelmed, but that you still love him, and want to marry him, but you just need a few days away from everything so you're staying with Nell, he'll understand. That way he'll know you're safe, but he won't think you're intending to do a runner, so you won't have to worry that he'll come looking for you."

"I'm not that close to Nell." She smiled diffidently.

"Take my word for it Lana, Nell loves you; she'll be glad to help."

"What should I tell her?"

"Just tell her that you need a few days away to decide if you're ready for marriage or not, and you told Lex that you were staying with her, so would she mind covering for you. She'll understand and she'll do it."

"Ok and...and Nell really does care?" Lana asked timidly.

"She really does; she only wanted the best for us, but because we're very different from her, what she considered the best and what we did wasn't the same. That's what caused most of our conflicts, but it doesn't negate the fact that she loved us." Kate told her honestly.

"I thought when she left..."

"She wanted us to go with her but we chose not to. We thought it was unfair of her to expect us to give up our friends and life and move with her to Metropolis; but it wasn't her that was unfair, it was us." Kate sighed heavily "Nell could have given us up for adoption when mom and dad died, but instead she dedicated years of her life to bringing us up. She deserved to find happiness and a life of her own, but we were too young to see that at the time, so when she left to get married we were hurt and cut her out of our life; she didn't cut us."

Lana bobbed her head and wiped a hand across her eyes "I'll call her later and we'll have a long talk."

"She'll be glad of it." Kate replied sleepily.

The way her older twin seemed to deflate in front of her eyes, caused the worry to flare instantly "Hey are you ok?"

"I'm fine just extremely tired but I know it's the travelling through time that's making me feel like this, so I'll have a rest and feel better afterwards." She paused and asked diffidently "Can you help me to the bathroom?"

Nodding, she quickly go to her feet, helped her up and to the en-suite "Do you want to keep the door open just in case you need me?"

"No I'll be fine honest." Kate replied with a faint smile and shut the door.

Walking back to the bed, Lana retrieved her purse and took out her phone. She closed her eyes, rehearsing what she was going to say before pushing the buttons and waited for the line to pick up. Once done she tossed the phone down and let out a deep breath.

That had been damned uncomfortable but at least it was short. Other than asking a couple of questions, Lex had seemed to understand her need for a few days privacy. She was just thankful that his prior experience with the opposite sex and marriage appeared to let him know when it wasn't the time to push. Raking a hand through her hair she shook her head in disbelief. If she hadn't known any better, she'd swear that he really had been concerned, really did care about her. A few hours ago she wouldn't have doubted it, which just went to show what a good actor he was.

Her thoughts were halted at the sight of her twin leaning against the doorframe. Rushing over she helped her to the bed before hastily retrieving a warm nightdress, and after helping her into it, tucked her under the blankets.

"Are you warm enough?"

Kate simply nodded.

"I'm going to go and buy the things we need, and I'll also pick up something for dinner tonight so that we don't have to cook. Will you be alright until I come back?"

"I'll be fine you g..." Kate began and slipped into sleep.

With a last unhappy frown, she quickly raced around the house to close all the windows and left, after checking on her twin once more.

oOo

Returning almost two hours later, Lana made her way directly to the bedroom, and seeing Kate beginning to stir, asked anxiously "How do you feel?"

"I feel good, a little bit cold but not exhausted like before."

At the response she felt her shoulders relax, and replied happily "Well you won't be cold for long."

After stretching and yawning, Kate pushed up to sit against the headboard "Did you just get back?"

"Uh huh..." She smiled gleefully and took a seat on the end of the bed "As buying the stuff in Smallville would raise eyebrows, and driving to Metropolis and back would take too long, I went in the opposite direction, and bought everything we needed from a camping store in Tilba Junction."

Kate smiled at the pride in her voice "So what'd you get?"

"I got us a fairly large icebox, a two burner camping stove, a couple of rechargeable LED lanterns, a torch, a couple of hot water bottles, and a couple of camping heaters. I also bought plenty of canisters of fuel for the stove and the heater so we shouldn't have any problems, but I can always go and get more if we need them." She finished cheerfully.

"Didn't the shop guy think it was odd you buying so much?"

She snorted softly "I don't think he cared about anything but making a big sale but just in case, I gave him some bull about a bunch of us going camping for a few weeks and wanting to make sure that we had plenty of supplies."

"What about Lex, I'm assuming it was his money that you used." When she nodded, Kate frowned lightly "Won't he question why you've bought all this stuff?"

"Nope, one thing I'll say about Lex is that he's never been mean fisted about giving me money, nor does he question me about what I spend it on." Recalling that was true, Kate nodded in accord "I didn't use the credit card that he gave me because that would leave a trail that he would of course question, but when I packed my things earlier I retrieved the cash that he'd given me for places that don't accept credit only coin, and used some of that. I figure it's only fair that he pays to ensure that we don't go hungry or get cold while you're here so..." She shrugged unconcerned "Anyway after leaving the camping store, I then went to the supermarket and stocked up in there as well. I also got us a hot roast chicken, bread rolls and salad for dinner plus a cheesecake for desert."

Kate giggled lightly "It seems like you've thought of everything."

"If I've forgotten anything we'll write a list and I'll go buy it tomorrow." She finished readily. Getting to her feet, she stretched "I'll just go and bring everything in from the car and we're good."

"Wait..." Pushing aside the covers Kate climbed out of bed "Just let me put on something warm and I'll be with you in a minute."

"My bags there so help yourself." Lana pointed to the luggage and tacked on "Remind me to put sweatshirts, long sleeved t-shirts and sweatpants on the list; with two of us and no washing machine we need to make sure that we don't run out."

Kate nodded and when she was dressed the two ladies went outside to retrieve all the purchases from the car.

oOo

"Ok, so I wanna know what's going on but first..." Lois looked back and forth between her fiancée and his twin before settling her gaze on the man at her side "Hon you said that you're being called Smallville and he's being called Clark right?" He nodded, she nodded in return then looked at the man opposite "Ok, so can you tell me who you are. I mean obviously you're Clark, yet you're not my fiancée and yet..." She scratched her head and shrugged "Just who are you?"

"Well as Smallville told you at the hospital I am him." He began uncomfortably and at her frown tried again "I mean I was him but I'm not anymore; now I'm like a version of him."

"Well that was clear as mud."

"Sorry." He smiled sheepishly.

"Ok, so to start again, at one point the two of you were same person." Lois clarified looking between the two men once again.

"Yes, but..."

"How does that work, how can you be the same person?"

"We're not anymore, but in a roundabout way we still are." When her frown deepened, Clark blew out a soft breath and tried to explain "See there are two timelines. In the first one we lived the exact same existence but a new timeline was created when we took different paths in life which caused us to be split. So although in reality we were the same man only a few days ago, in reality we were also divided years ago."

"That makes no sense. How can you have been one person only a few days ago, if you were split years ago and lived two completely different lives?" She asked confused.

"Not different, we both lived it the first time and I dreamt it the second time." Clark told her and refrained from rolling his eyes when he realised how garbled his explanation sounded.

Lois shook her head "What?"

"It's really complicated Lo." Smallville put in and clasped her hand to squeeze gently.

"So explain it to me again but this time, try to make yourselves clear." She advised patiently.

"Baby the easiest way for you to understand what we're talking about is to say that if Clark and I were never split, we'd still be one man and that man would be engaged to you."

She scratched her cheek absently "Are you saying that to be one complete person again, the two you have to be merged back together?" They both nodded "So does that mean I don't have a fiancée, or do I now have two fiancée's?"

"No babe it means..."

"Yes and no..."

The men's voices clashed. They looked at each other, and gesturing for his twin to continue, Smallville sat back leaving the field clear to Clark, only to soon wish that he hadn't.

"We _were_ both your fiancée in the first timeline because at that point we hadn't been split..." Lois nodded slowly and feeling relived that she was following at last he continued "But when I made different choices in the past than I'd made the first time around, I broke off from Smallville and that created a second timeline. However, I still experienced everything I'd lived in the first timeline through dreams." When her frown deepened again he forged ahead "Smallville hasn't changed at all so he's still your fiancé but when I got married we..."

"You're married!" Lois latched onto the word to ask incredulously "What do you mean; you're married?"

"Well I..." He broke off and sent his twin a look screaming for help, only to see a burning look of reproach cast back at him.

Martha, Chloe and Jerome exchanged eye contact and decided that now was not the time to move or speak.

Swearing fluently but silently in his head, Smallville tried to calm his love "Lo..."

"You said to be one person again you have to be merged back together and now he's saying that he's married. What does he mean; he's married?" She cut in to demand rapidly.

"That's how we were split babe. See a few days ago he was engaged to you because he was me but um...but that kind of changed when he got married a few years ago in the second timeline." Smallville replied with a charming smile but when her eyes narrowed, he knew that he was in trouble.

"How many years ago?" She asked in a dangerously calm voice.

He coughed and reluctantly revealed "Eight."

"Eight! I see." She turned to Clark and asked politely "And just who are you married to; not that I can't guess?"

Clark cleared his throat and even more unwillingly admitted "Lana."

"Lana! I see!" She turned to her fiancée "So you married Lana." She pronounced gently before getting to her feet.

"Not me, I didn't; he did." Smallville quickly shook his head, and likewise stood.

"He is you." She reminded him affably.

Smallville grimaced and hurriedly tried to explain "Baby it's not that simple, see…"

"Answer the question." She cut in softly.

"I um….Lo it wasn't me, it was him." He turned and flared his eyes at his twin before swinging back to face his fiancée "But we're going to fix this Lo; that's why we're here, to fix it and then we'll be put back together again I promise." Smallville told her quickly.

"What are you, humpty dumpty?" She asked sarcastically.

Jerome guffawed, Chloe and Martha bit their lips but when Lois shot a look in their direction, each quickly schooled their features, before rising to their feet.

"We'll just ah...go to...um..." Chloe began then trailed off unsure of how to finish.

"Away; we'll just go away." Jerome put in swiftly and herded the women out the back door.

"Damn!"

"What's wrong Chlo?"

"I was really enjoying that and it had just gotten interesting and now we're going to miss it." She pouted and kicked the stair railing.

"I know." Martha nodded sadly.

Jerome rolled his eyes before admitting truthfully "Considering the hard time both of them gave me earlier, I was enjoying it too."

The three looked at each other, sighed heavily in disappointment and reluctantly made their way to the barn.

Meanwhile Clark stayed quietly seated, wondering if he should likewise leave.

Lois crossed her arms and glared at her fiancée "So you're married to Lana…"

"Not me…" He repeated and was once again ignored when she asked mildly "And what about me, what was I doing in this new timeline?"

He sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose "You were there Lo."

"Obviously and..." She encouraged gently.

"And well...well you'd also made different choices in life..."

"I should think so since my fiancée was already married." She cut in smoothly.

Smallville winced and figuring it was time that he also made himself scarce, Clark zipped out the kitchen, straight to the barn and up to the loft. Finding the others there already, he smiled diffidently and took a seat on the edge of the desk.

"How come you're out here?" Jerome asked casually.

He shrugged nonchalant "I didn't think they really wanted an audience so..."

"You chickened out." Jerome gloated cheerfully.

"It had nothing to do with chickening out." Clark countered staunchly "Lois was talking to Smallville not me, and I thought they deserved to have some privacy, so left them to it."

At the smirk on his younger 'brothers' face, and the patent disbelief on the women's, he completely deflated "For the first time since we've met, I can honestly say that I'm glad not to be him."

oOo

Smallville continued to look at the kitchen door his twin had just shot through and silently cursed Clark, cursed Lana, cursed magic and was in the middle of cursing the world in general when he was abruptly brought out of his musings by his fiancée's voice.

"As Superman isn't in this world yet, you don't need to go flying off at a moment's notice and as there are two other super powered aliens here who can give assistance should anyone need it in Smallville; don't even think of leaving." Lois warned him lightly.

His eyes flew back to hers "I wasn't Lo; I was just gathering my thoughts."

"Then gather them quickly and continue."

"Ok well see it was like this; Clark was married to Lana and instead of being a reporter, he worked the farm like dad did. You were still a reporter but you didn't work at the Daily Planet. Apparently you did at one time but then you left Metropolis..."

"Why?"

He was unwilling to say so quickly rushed on "You met someone and moved to where they lived but that's not..."

"Who?" She cut in to ask suspiciously.

"It doesn't matter who but..."

Her eyes widened, a hand was quickly pressed against her heart "Oh my god! Are you saying that I was...are you trying NOT to say that I moved back here to Smallville and worked at the local rag because we were having some kind of a clandestine relationship?"

"No of course not Lo, you were with someone else altogether."

She sighed in relief and held out her hand "Then get to the point, who was I with?"

He exhaled loudly before grudgingly admitting "You were engaged to Oliver."

"I'm engaged to Ollie?" She repeated happily.

At her words, all trepidation fled "NO! You're not." He told her inflexibly.

"If you can be married to Lana…."

"I'm not married to her at all; CLARK is." He stressed clearly "This is just a minor technicality, nothing more."

"It's a hell of a technicality." She smiled kindly "I mean since you and Clark are technically the same man and he was married at 19, that means you're technically already married an…"

"NO! I'm not." He cut in steadily and crossed his arms.

"….and I'm as free as a bird….." She continued undaunted.

"NO! You're not." He interrupted again.

"….so I guess we won't be getting married after all." Lois finished in a contemplative voice.

He took a step forward, bent down to keep their faces level and replied positively "YES! We will."

"Really, isn't there a minor thing called bigamy to consider."

"There won't be any bigamy because I'm not married." He informed her clearly.

"Apparently you are since according to you in this new timeline, Clark Kent married Lana Lang when he was 19."

"That's right, **Clark** did."

"And who are you?"

"Smallville." He replied firmly.

"Smallville..." She repeated facetiously"Well I don't remember meeting anyone going by the name of Smallville Kent, but I do know that my fiancée's name is Clark Kent and I've just discovered the rotten bastards already married."

"You're not getting rid of me Lo…" When her mouth opened, he cut in smoothly "You do recall what happened the last time you tried to dump me right?"

"I didn't _**try**_ to do anything, I did dump you." She smiled cockily.

He smirked back rudely "And do you remember what I did?"

"You took advantage of me and it was completely unfair." She shot out quickly.

"What in hell was unfair about it, you dumped me so I gave you a reason to change your mind."

"You didn't give me a reason to change my mind." Lois yelped before poking him in the chest "You didn't even give me a choice if I recall correctly."

"Oh I gave you choice alright; I even asked if you wanted me to stop remember?" He grinned tauntingly.

"And do you remember what you were doing when you asked me that?" She planted her hands on her hips and demanded.

"I sure do…" His smile grew as the memory played in his head. Seeing the answering gleam in her eyes, he knew that she was likewise reminiscing "…and if **I** recall correctly, you enjoyed it a whole lot."

"I was just pretending."

He grunted loudly in disbelief "Well you must have gotten carried away with your performance then, because I was left with nail rakes down my back."

She felt the blush sweep over her cheeks "I'm a good actress."

"You're a lousy actress." He disabused swiftly before continuing in a voice that bordered on the point of being virtuous "But getting back to the point, I also recall that when you didn't respond to my question the first time, I was gentleman enough to ask if you wanted me to stop a second time."

"Gentleman! You were no gentleman." Lois scoffed loudly.

"Yeah, well if memory serves, you weren't acting like much of a lady." He retorted pleasantly then quickly tacked on "Unless of course we're talking about a lady of the night."

Lois gulped back a laugh and smacked his arm "And just what do you know about those kinds of women?"

"Just that they are the most caring individuals I've ever met in my life." He defended stoutly.

"Is that right?"

"Mmm hmm." He paused and sent her a modest smile "Why those sweet women just worry all the time about Superman. They fret that he doesn't get enough rest at night so offer him a place to rest his weary head. They offer to tenderly kiss away all the little hurts and bruises he doesn't have. They even suggest helping him to work off some adrenaline so that he can relax and they're so kind hearted, they offer to waive the consultation fee that type of service normally costs."

Snickering lightly she reached up and rifled her fingers through his hair, then grabbed a fistful and tugged.

Letting out a laugh at the tickle he felt, Smallville quickly schooled his features and smiled into her eyes "And just how does Superman respond to those gracious offers?" She asked politely.

"Well Superman doesn't want to hurt their feelings, so he ensures the ladies know just how appreciative he is of their solicitude before reluctantly refusing." He finished by fluttering his lashes.

"How reluctantly?"

"Very." He wiggled his brows "I mean he's extremely flattered and all but Superman's attracted to a different kind of woman." When Lois preened he nodded "The poor besotted fool's heart has well and truly been captured by a real shrew of a woman…" He yelped when Lois tugged on his hair. Choking back the laugh he quickly corrected "…did I say shrew, I meant crabby…" she tugged again "…ill-tempered…" tug "….grouchy…" tug tug "…baby I'm not going to have much hair left if you keep pulling on it."

Lois nodded, let go of his hair, grabbed his ear and twisted "Now you were saying,"

Grinning he continued "Yeah, there's this one particular managing female who he just can't live without."

Lois' smiled at him mushily before deciding it wasn't quite time to let him off the hook. Letting go of his ear, she patted down the tufts of hair that was standing up on his head then straightened her shoulders "Well then it's lucky for Superman that he no longer has to worry about keeping his shrewish, crabby, ill-tempered, grouchy, managing fiancée happy isn't it?" She sniffed haughtily then sent him a sunny smile "Now that she's a free agent again she can get back into the game. It's been a while but I'm sure it won't take her long to become a major player."

"She can try, if she has a hankering to see a line of men with broken bones behind her." Smallville put in blandly. When her mouth opened, he shook his head in mock regret and continued without giving her a chance to speak "But she really should forget about the game since she won't have time to play it."

"Oh and why not?" She asked warily.

"Because I recall Superman making a promise to her once..." At the cautious look in her eyes, he picked her up and brought her face level "You do remember exactly _**how**_ he promised to keep her occupied when she tried to dump him don't you?"

"I did dump you." She reminded him once again.

His lips crooked up at the corners "Oh so we're talking about ourselves in the first person again are we? Well ok then I concede the point; you did dump me." When she nodded firmly, he lent forward and pressed a firm kiss against her chin before whispering loudly "I'd have to say that was the shortest breakup in history, wouldn't you?"

"It was still a breakup." She repeated weakly.

"It was a waste of time and an exercise in futility because I wasn't letting you go." He corrected candidly "Not then, not now, not ever."

Uncaring that she was dangling above the floor, Lois scowled and fisted her hands on her hips "Are you saying that you'd really do it?"

"Yes!"

"You wouldn't."

"I would." He confirmed and bending forward pressed his lips to her cheek "If I just happily let you go, what would you do?"

"I'd find someone else of course."

"Really?"

"Uh huh, well first I'd have to wait until after I was released from jail for your murder but I'm sure that by the time I'm 90, I'll be ready for a new boyfriend."

He grinned, she giggled and after hefting out a deep breath Lois asked "Well now that you've no doubt broken the worst news to me, how about telling me everything."

Nodding he set her down onto her feet and keeping an arm around her waist, ushered her into the lounge room to sit beside him on the couch.

Once Lois was brought up to speed, she sat back and sighed "So when everything's been resolved, Clark and you will be merged back together and then the original timeline will once again be reset?"

"Yeah but the only way we know off to go back to the original timeline is to stop Jerome from marrying Lana in this one. We can use the spell that we used to get here but that'll just take us back to the timeline when Clark was married to her. If we do the reverse spell from there we'll go back to the original timeline but since no one will remember it more than likely Lana will just do it again and this will be a never ending saga." He sighed and rubbed his eyes tiredly.

Lois digested that thoughtfully, and at his yawn, patted his arm "Are you ok hon?"

"I haven't slept much the last couple of nights Lo." He admitted softly "Not knowing how we were going to fix everything so that I could be at home with you again kind of had me worried."

"Why don't you go upstairs and have a lie down?"

He shook his head "I'll be alright."

"I thought you said that I was the one who was going to be affected."

"It'll probably hit you later babe." He replied and quickly lifted his hand to try and stifle another yawn.

"But I feel fine." She protested.

"Hmm."

"Ok well we need..."

He heard her talking and tried to pay attention, but although he fought to keep his eyes open, the lids fluttered down and he was soon fast asleep.


	7. Chapter 7

Hi everyone

Well it's been three years since I actually last wrote a chapter for this story but as promised, now that I've finished P&P which took all my concentration, I'm getting back to both this story and my other WIP which I'm going to attempt writing at the same time.

Anyway, I dedicate this chapter to all those who kept asking if I intended to keep this story going. Sorry for the long, long, long wait.

Not much to say about this chapter except it takes up directly where the last one left off.

Linda

oOo

**Chapter 11**

Martha looked at her watch then at her sons "It's been an hour since we left them alone and I really don't want to spend the day out here in the barn. Can one of you please listen in and let us know if they've finished arguing, so that we can go back to the house?"

Taking the waving hand as his queue, Clark did as requested before giving the good news "It's quiet mom, so the worst must be over by now."

Figuring that was good enough, the four trooped back to the house and into the kitchen but came to a halt upon seeing Smallville curled up fast asleep on the couch, with his head resting in Lois' lap.

Cataloguing the various expressions flittering over each face, Lois smiled at them mildly embarrassed "I did try to get up several times to let you know it was safe to come back but he wouldn't let me go, so I was stuck." Making an attempt to stand, she was stymied when his arm locked tighter around her waist and his head pushed harder into her lap "See what I mean."

Amused, Martha plucked up a cushion from the recliner and passed it over "Try this dear; when Clark was a boy, my trick was to tuck a pillow under his head when he fell asleep, and he always cuddled into it long enough for me to get free."

"Mom" Clark and Jerome grumbled in unison and determinedly ignored the laughter spring up on the girl's faces.

Doing as suggested, Lois managed to get free and stretched in relief "Thanks Martha, I was starting to get a cramp in my leg."

Smiling in acknowledgment, the older woman asked inquisitively "I take it that everything is now settled between you two."

"Yeah, once assured that I wasn't going to kill him, he filled me in on what's been going on before falling asleep" She replied readily while looking at all expectantly "By any chance, does anyone know where Smallville put the cigarettes that he bought me?"

Zipping to the loft and back, Clark held out a bag "Here you go Lois."

"Thanks" Taking a peek inside, she smiled touched "He's a thoughtful guy; he also remembered to get me a lighter, some peppermints and a box of scorched almonds."

"What do they have to do with smoking?" Chloe frowned confused.

"Nothing, he just knows that I like them" She supplied freely "Anyway, I really feel in the need of a smoke, so I'll be back in a little bit ok." Striding to the front door and out, she stood on the porch surveying her surroundings.

So this was 2007.

Funny, although she'd been here before and it looked much the same as 2015, it felt different.

Then again, it was different.

Here she had an apartment over the Talon but it was just a place that she slept, not to mention a piece of crap compared to her swanky home in Metropolis. Here she was a budding reporter for the Inquisitor and not an award winning journalist for the Daily Planet. The only good news was that she still had a fiancée but the bad was that he was split in two and one part of him was married to Lana Lang. To add to the treat of being here, there was also the junior version of him and he was cuckoo about her too.

All in all; 2007 sucked!

It sucked even more that this was supposed to be a time and place that now only existed in her memory and instead it had come back to haunt them all.

Why oh why couldn't she just be dealing with something simple; like dangling over the gaping jaws of death and hoping that her sweetie would save her in time? She was used to that and it would be a lot more fun than being here.

Here was ugh!

The prospect of putting up with a sulky Clark again was UGH!

Going through all the Clark/Lana bullshit again was **AAARRRRRRGGH!**

Feeling the need for a quadruple scotch at the last thought, Lois made her way down the steps to the driveway and headed towards the mail box at the end of it, figuring that a walk was better than nothing while her mind contemplated the people she'd just left.

First there was Smallville; thank goodness for him. He was her touchstone, the one constant that she could count on not to change.

Out of the others, Martha would be the easiest to get along with. Luckily the woman was used to dealing with the bizarre given that her son was an alien but under the circumstances, the poor thing was probably going to feel like she was caught between a rock and a hard place before too long.

Chloe was a wild card. She'd said that she was just happy to know her cousin was ok, so was fine about her relationship with Clark, but Lois didn't altogether believe her. The last time she'd woken up in 2007, Chloe had been great **BUT** the last time she hadn't been engaged to Clark Kent.

That was the rub.

2007 Chloe was only a kid, who still had romantic feelings for Clark. It was damned unlikely all those hopes she'd harboured of him one day realising that she was the girl for him, had simply disappeared just because she now knew that he never would, especially when it hadn't dimmed yet but should have in the face of his attitude about her and Lana respectively. Give her a few more years and Chloe really would give up on him but here today; no, she didn't think it was likely. Unfortunately, all they could do was cross their fingers and hope that after Chloe had time to let the reality of Clark's engagement to her cousin sink in, that she wouldn't cut up rough but if everything did go south, they'd simply have to ride it out and pray that after everything returned to normal, no one would remember any of it.

Next there was Clark, who resembled her fiancée but only to the imperceptive. Their faces were identical but their expressions were different. From what she'd heard about his life, it was understandable that he didn't have much to be cheery about but although she was sorry he'd been unhappy, she couldn't deny there was something about him that made her uncomfortable.

Reaching the end of the driveway, Lois retrieved the mail and sighed hugely at the thought of the last person in the mix; Jerome. Lighting up a cigarette, she exhaled deeply and turned to slowly make her way back to the house.

Jerome was the one who concerned her mightily.

Irrespective of any magical abilities Lana did or didn't have, the only power she really had was that which Jerome gave her and that's where the problems began. He wasn't only a teenager, he was one that allowed his emotions to rule his every waking moment. Trying to use logic on him was pointless since he'd never listened to advice, nor paid the slightest heed to common sense and trying to reason with him about anything Lana related, was a waste of time. He was prisoner to the girl's jailor, completely subservient to her and saw nothing amiss in that. What was worse is it that he'd locked himself into the cell then handed Lana the keys and was actually grateful whenever she condescended to give her little pet any scrap of attention, no matter how miniscule.

Lois wished that she could trust him to think beyond his present desires but she didn't. She had no faith in him at all. She didn't doubt that if he had even half a chance of getting Lana back, he'd take it and wouldn't spare a thought for who or what he'd hurt in the process, not even if that meant his own future. He'd either be defiant about it, uncaring about it or naively duped by Lana.

So out of all the characters in this farce, it was Jerome who bore watching; not Lana, HIM!

Lana was a pain in the posterior but she was predictable, because she never had a thought in her head that wasn't about herself in some way. Her methods might change but she didn't. The motivating force that drove all of Lana's actions was really very simple; what was in it for her and what could she get out of it?

Which was the main reason Lois didn't believe for a second that all Lana had wanted, was to give her and Clark a chance to get things right. She probably could've fallen for that steaming pile of crap, if she didn't have a working brain-cell in her head but as it was, she believed it was Lana Lang's weakness of character that was the reason for all that had happened, not her so-called love for Clark.

If Lana had honestly only wanted to give herself and Clark the chance to get things right, she would have told him and her younger self the truth about everything and then advised them to get back together and begin afresh, but to wait to get married if only to ensure they were still of the same mind when they grew up. They may have argued, they may have considered it a horrible waste of time and still eloped after she left. That wouldn't have been surprising. For teenagers, waiting an hour could feel like a lifetime. However, that decision would have been on their heads and out of her hands. But instead of encouraging caution, Lana who'd been a 27 year old woman at the time, had intentionally sent one teenager who was used to getting her own way, of to talk to another who was so lovelorn that he was easily led.

That pissed her off!

Adults were supposed to help kids, to guide them, not try and re-live their lives through them.

The root problem was that Lana laboured under the misconception that every person was put on this earth just for her convenience. That was why she never bothered apologising to anyone for anything she did. Why would she, when she saw them all as nothing more than peasants who were there for her to step on.

Ok maybe that was a little harsh; MAYBE but not by much.

That aside, she did believe it was Lana's vanity that was the driving force behind all her actions. The girl simply wasn't used to losing, especially to someone else. Nor was she used to exerting herself to get Clark to come to heel and the word no was beyond her understanding, particularly when it came from him.

Unfortunately although it pained her to admit it, Lois could understand how things had gotten to that stage.

Take Lana's temperament, add all the sucking up Clark had done to ingratiate himself to her, which only increased her already healthy ego, toss in the demoralising blow of being dumped so unceremoniously after finally giving it up to him and then to top it off, the insult of him actually becoming engaged to someone else and you had a volatile cocktail that was just waiting to explode.

And it had, which was why Lana had come here specifically because here, Clark was still a supplicant at her feet.

The last time she'd been in 2007, she'd considered the choices Clark made his business and if he wanted to spend his life playing the imbecile for Lana, it had been of no matter to her but things had changed. This time she considered his considered choices, her business as well and she had no intention of allowing him to ruin their lives for a teenage passion that was as puerile as himself.

She'd call him Jerome as had been decided but it didn't change the fact that he was really Clark Kent; the boy who would grow up to be the man, who was the love of her life.

Thank god for Smallville; she needed him around to remind herself that one day Jerome would grow up and out of his sulkiness.

Ah well, if her fiancée could put up with her younger self for 5 days and not lose it completely or call off their engagement, then she could put up with his for two. Of course, he was a lot more tolerant than she was BUT she could always turn to liquor when the going got tough.

With 5 or 10 shots of Sambuca under her belt, she could handle anything. If that failed, she'd switch to Bourbon.

Feeling considerably cheered at the thought, Lois hummed and while slowly walking towards the house, debated over whether to send her fiancée out to buy the booze now or wait until it was needed, when she noticed one of the men coming towards her. Since Jerome was younger and Smallville was wearing a different shirt, it was easy to figure out who was headed her way; what wasn't so easy to decipher was why he made her feel somewhat edgy.

Shaking it off, she mentally crossed her fingers that he wasn't about to give her more bad news and walked forward to meet him.

oOo

Quietly deliberating over what he should do and becoming fed up of the internal back and forth he'd been waging, Clark determinedly got to his feet "I'm going to talk to Lois. I left Smallville in the lurch earlier and although they've worked it out, it's not fair that I let him carry the blame for all this."

Jerome rolled his eyes but refrained from making comment. Chloe nodded but also stayed silent while Martha smiled encouragingly "I think you did the right thing leaving them alone to talk it out earlier sweetie but now that they have, it would be nice if you talked to her as well."

"Yeah and hopefully, she'll be just as forgiving towards me" He smiled nervously and turned for the door.

Stepping outside, he saw her meandering towards the house and knowing that if he didn't step lively, she'd reach the porch and he'd lose the opportunity of talking to her alone, he mustered up his nerve and walked forward to meet her.

"Hi."

"Hi, is something wrong?"

"No, I just thought um..." Sticking his hands in his pockets, he rocked on the balls of his feet "I just wanted to say that I'm sorry for ducking out earlier and leaving Smallville to explain the mess I've made of our lives."

Letting out a relieved breath, she replied lightly "It was probably just as well since I prefer to give my fiancée a tongue lashing in private, instead of an open forum.

His lips twitched in response "I know."

One brow rose in query, before a small chuckled escaped "Yeah, I guess you do at that."

Sweeping his eyes over their surroundings, he stated quietly "It feels strange being here again."

"Mmm but strange became a part of my life when I hooked up with an alien" She revealed honestly.

"It became part of mine when I found out I was one" He said just as candidly "But being here is different to that."

"Yeah it does" She agreed readily "But considering we're in Smallville, I'm just grateful that we're not all playing Freaky Friday with each other's bodies."

"There is that."

Hearing the absentminded tone in his voice, she wondered if he'd said all he had to and now simply wanted to be left alone or if he was leading up to something and needed help. Not sure, she inwardly threw up her hands and nudged gently "How's it feel having a twin and younger brother?"

Turning to look at her, Clark felt his stomach somersault and wished that he didn't feel as gauche as a school boy. Unfortunately, reminding himself that he'd turned 27 on his last birthday did little to help settle the butterflies in his tummy "Well um…well Smallville and I were on the same page almost from the beginning. So although it was a little odd at first, I got used to it fairly quickly but with Jerome it's um..." He thought about it for a moment before saying tactfully "...it's difficult for a lot of reasons. The worst of which is that I know he's ready to leap in and make the same mistake that I did eight years ago, and is just as unprepared as I was for when the novelty wears of."

Holding back a wince, Lois inwardly grimaced. That was a cold expression to describe the death of a relationship that was meant to be more than purely sexual. It showed a complete lack of feeling for the person you'd been intimate with. She'd used it when the buzz had gone from a fling, so walked away with little more than a backward wave. Hell it had been used on her and she'd all but shrugged before going back to enjoying her latte but flings by their very nature were brief. Clark using it when talking about his wife was different. The fact that he'd said it so easily made it incredibly sad; as if their whole relationship had been nothing but a novelty that he'd long gotten tired off.

Unsure of what to say in reply, she gave his arm a pat "Well um…well getting burnt is how most people tend to learn from their mistakes and Jerome hasn't..."

"Made it yet" He interrupted to state quietly.

"He doesn't have the maturity or the wisdom of experience that you and Smallville do" She corrected steadily "But the same could be said for Jo, who didn't have mine when she was in the future and thought I was crazy for being engaged to Clark Kent."

Figuring that this time he did want to be alone when he only half smiled in reply but didn't make any effort to speak, she thumbed over her shoulder indicating she was going inside and climbed the stairs to the porch.

"Lois."

Pausing with her hand on the doorknob, she flicked a look over her shoulder "Yes."

"Can I...I need to talk to you for a few minutes, do you mind?"

"Sure; do you mind if we sit down though" Taking his agreement for granted, she walked over to the porch swing and taking a seat, left it up to him to start.

Now that she was paying attention she could see that like her, he was uncomfortable but where his body language betrayed his agitation, hers didn't. Then again, he was nervously pacing, throwing surreptitious looks at her from the corner of his eye and rocking back and forth on the balls, while she was sitting still.

She wanted to laugh at the pair of them.

They weren't strangers and had never acted like they were, so...

Shrugging it off, she gave up thinking about it and continued waiting for him to speak.

Five minutes later she was still waiting and had to bite her tongue from telling him to forget it and come back when he was actually ready to say something.

If anyone else had told her they wanted to talk but hadn't opened their mouth by now, she'd do just that but she couldn't do it to this man. Smallville had told her that hiding his unhappiness from world had caused Clark to become withdrawn, so she understood that opening up now wouldn't be easy for him….unfortunately, this waiting was torture for her.

She hated uncomfortable silences.

When yet another minute passed, she silently groaned.

Maybe it was time to give him a little nudge.

oOo

Opening his mouth to speak then changing his mind, Clark took a seat on the porch railing then got up to walk around, before returning to sit on the railing facing her once more, unsure of where to start. He didn't like feeling so awkward, yet found it hard to act natural.

Whenever he'd allowed himself to imagine sweeping Lois off her feet, he'd always pictured himself being suave, smooth, sophisticated; a man with devastating charm and a debonair wardrobe to match. Of course when he was actually around her, he'd felt like a clumpish oaf but this was even worse.

Before today, the only Lois he'd occasionally seen over the last 8 years was the one from his timeline and unfortunately due to all the changes in it, she'd considered him little more than a casual friend. As a result, cutting him out of her life upon learning the truth hadn't hurt her unduly because Oliver Queen was the man in her life. He was the one she needed; not Clark Kent. But here in front of him was THE Lois; the woman who'd remember every event that he'd dreamt about because she'd shared them with him in reality.

The two Lois's were essentially the same but their different life experiences, had made small but distinct changes in their makeup. He loved them both and would never be able to pick one over the other but while the one from his time didn't love him, this one had once upon a time.

At the tiny but pointed clearing of a throat, his eyes flew to find her studiously gazing at the ceiling but he wasn't fooled. He knew that more than likely she was fighting the urge to yell 'spit it out already', which actually caused his shoulders to relax.

He'd never seen Lois as a woman to be put on a pedestal; not only because she was far too alive for that but because she was far too impatient. If he tried, she'd only climb down before getting a sledge hammer to break the thing. Besides, even after he realised that he loved her, he'd only felt sort of shy around her but not worshipful. He'd already learnt that taking the fantasy woman route left you with nothing but bitter disillusionment. So he wasn't going to start doing it again and certainly not with Lois.

He was still jittery, still wanted her to like him but his most fervent wish was that she didn't feel he'd betrayed her by marrying Lana and derailing their lives in the process. However, since there was only way to know for sure, he took his courage in both hands and asked directly "What all did Smallville tell you?"

At the question, she gave up all pretence of inspecting the roof and answered just as forthrightly "He gave me an encapsulated version of events and basically brought me up to speed about what's been going on while I've been comatose."

Bobbing his head fractionally, he asked next "Did he tell you anything about me?"

"Yes…" She answered gently "And from what he said, I gather things didn't work out the way you thought they would when you got married."

"No, I was pretty miserable" He acknowledged frankly.

Unable to come up with any platitudes and knowing that she was lousy at pretence, she said almost cautiously "I don't mean to offend but given your history with Lana before you tied the knot, was it really so unexpected?"

"Yes…" He replied without hesitation "I feel like a fool admitting that, but it really was." Sighing heavily, he raked one hand through his hair and shrugged "The long and short of it is, I'd convinced myself that the only problem Lana and I had was my secret and I know that she did too. So we simply didn't trouble ourselves to look any deeper at our relationship or worry over a lack of harmony, rapport, affinity, kindness etc. All of those were insignificant compared to my secret, which was so monumental to both of us; for me because I was ashamed of being an alien and for Lana, because it killed her not to know what I was hiding."

"Your secret; emphasis on the word _**your**_" Lois stated emphatically "Did it never occur to you that it was none of her business?"

"No…" He smiled unamused "Lana thought everything was her business, and I thought she was never wrong."

Letting out a small laugh at his wit, she nodded in understanding and murmured quietly "There are none so blind, as those who will not see."

"You've just zeroed in on our biggest problem in one second flat" He let out a laugh of disbelief that contained no humour.

"Well you did give me a pretty big clue, so it wasn't hard" She replied unimpressed.

"What clue?" He asked curiously.

"You said that both you and Lana, thought the only problem you had was your secret but since no relationship is perfect, it was obvious that you were lying to yourselves and the only reason I could think of for why you'd do that, was because there were other issues that were just as important that needed to be addressed, but which you both found easier to pretend didn't exist."

"I wish it had been so obvious to me years ago but as you just pointed out, I was too busy lying to myself to notice." He shook his head disgusted "The thing is Lois; if someone chooses to shut their eyes and ears to the truth, they will. You cannot make a person notice something if they don't want to and I didn't want too; neither did Lana." Stopping, he looked at her embarrassed "Deep down, I think the reason we never acknowledged that we even had problems, was because they were the only thing we did have. If we fixed them, they'd go away and then we'd have nothing and they were better than nothing. So we clung to our problems by ignoring them, to make it appear like we had something."

"That's the most convoluted load of twaddle I've ever heard" She shook her head astounded "But you were both teenagers at the time and unfortunately, they do quite often require a daily dose of angst and drama to feel alive, so it makes sense."

"Well Lana certainly was addicted to drama and I wasn't much better, so…" He smiled without humour "It doesn't take a genius to figure out what happily ever after is like, for two people who put all their effort into brushing aside their multitude of problems and none into solving them."

"No it doesn't" She agreed softly "I'm sorry Clark."

"Why would you be sorry?" He asked surprised "I've just admitted that I chose to remain ignorant, so I don't deserve..."

Holding up a hand to stop his flow of words, she told him openly "Don't mistake my meaning. I hope when this is all over, that the life I know is still there waiting for me but I am sorry for the boy whose dreams died a pretty brutal death."

"Don't be sorry for him Lois because I'm not" He asserted bluntly "My dreams wouldn't have died so brutally, if I hadn't been such a coward in the first place."

"Give yourself a break Clark; you were just a kid with stars in your eyes" She reminded him.

"I'm the man who was the kid, that's responsible for all of this" He amended apologetically.

Feeling like she'd just been had, she drew back imperceptibly "Excuse me?"

Too preoccupied berating himself, he didn't hear the ice edge into her tone at his words and said almost meditatively "Lana never tried to conceal her true nature from me, I chose not to see it because it was easier for me to pretend she was perfect, than it was to confront the truth that she wasn't but I didn't do it for her, I did it for me. I didn't want to entertain her anger by openly declaring she did anything wrong, so I held my peace. If you do that often enough, eventually the person you do it to will become so puffed up with their own conceit, they genuinely believe they can get away with anything and that's what happened to Lana." Pausing to take a breath, he looked at his companion and seeing the storm in her eyes, finished falteringly "That's why she did this Lois, because I never had the guts to confront her wrong doing in the past. I know it's too late to be sorry now but…"

"Well if that's all you have to say then I think we're done" She cut in to announce crisply and rose to her feet.

Wondering what he'd said that had caused such a turnaround in her demeanour, Clark likewise stood and asked anxiously "What did I say?"

"Nothing, forget it." Spinning on her heel she headed for the door but feeling far too incensed to say nothing, spun back and jabbed him in the chest, hard "Don't you ever get sick and tired of bailing her out? Don't you ever get fed up? So Lana Lang once again gets to worm her way out of the trouble SHE caused because Clark Kent is once again riding to her rescue; this time by placing the blame for what she did on his head, instead of finding someone else to pin it on, like the Luthors or her boyfriends or the man in the moon; have I got that right?" Paying no heed to the shaking of his head and unmoved by the distress on his face, she stated wrathfully "Next time, try selling that Lana is a misunderstood victim shit, to someone whose life hasn't been messed about by that scheming little imp; IF you can find anyone that she hasn't screwed over that is."

"Please wait…." Aghast that she'd misunderstood his words, he clasped her arm as she went to storm past and speaking quickly, hoped that he could set the record straight "Lois, I wasn't trying to make her out to be a victim I really wasn't; I just said it all wrong."

Indifferent to anxiety he was displaying, she retorted in a voice rigid with fury "Don't look to me for absolution on Lana's behalf because I'm not feeling very charitable and if.…"

"That's not what I was looking for honestly" He sprang in desperate to make her understand.

As the sincerity in his voice finally got through, the red mist of rage clouding her mind began to dissipate. Holding up one hand before he could speak, she said evenly "Just give me a few minutes to calm down."

Watching anxiously as she paced while dread crawled in his stomach, Clark mentally crossed his fingers that he wouldn't piss her off again. He'd told Smallville that he was worried Lois wouldn't like him, and he'd already put her off-side twice in the space of an hour. First by the revelation that he'd derailed their lives by marrying Lana and now by making it sound as if she was blameless in this whole mess.

Having dissected his words from every angle, Lois exhaled wearily before retaking her seat "I'm sorry for going off at you…"

"That's ok, I shouldn't have…"

"Clark, let me apologise ok?" She cut in while feeling like a fiend for kicking a man, who by all accounts had been kicked enough already. Not wanting to say the next bit but feeling he was owed something, she admitted grudgingly "The truth is that Lana's a bit of a sore subject with me at the moment…a lot more than I realised but I shouldn't have jumped the gun and then jumped all over you like that, I was out of line and I'm sorry."

"That's alright."

"It's never alright but I won't belabour the point and embarrass us both further, so if you're willing to move on, I'll be grateful to as well." Taking his nod as assent, she sighed in relief "Ok, well I've tried to put my prejudice for Lana aside and believe me when I say it wasn't easy. Right now, I have half a mind to track that conniving bitch down and kick her capped teeth in but I digress…" At his laugh, she grimaced "Sorry, I just had to get that out of my system. Now getting back what I was saying, I've examined what you said and while I do agree with some of it, I don't agree with all." Taking out a cigarette, Lois lit it and sighing in pleasure advised simply "This smoke doesn't count because we don't have any alcohol around here, and I need something since we're talking about you know who." Seeing the amusement spring up in his eyes, she offered generously "Want one?"

"No thanks."

Bobbing her head, she carried on "So getting back to the point of our conversation, while I will agree with you that Lana wasn't shy about displaying her true colours openly and will also agree that by you not pulling her up on her behaviour that she did become worse, no one will convince me that Lana ever saw men as anything more than playthings, that she could use and later discard after getting what she wanted from them. And furthermore, the only reason she kept her claws in you instead of dumping and running per her standard procedure, was because you not only proved yourself willing to take her unceasing crap but maintained your fan-boy attitude towards her in spite of it; with me so far?"

At his nod, she exhaled before saying with brutal frankness "From what I observed back in the day, Lana gave you plenty of help to see her the way you wanted to, because she liked being so desired. But, since she liked getting her own way even more, she tested your feelings for her in little ways to see how you'd react and when you gave in on one thing, she then tested you on another. The more lenient you were, the bolder she became and she kept at it tirelessly to see just how far she could push the envelope before you said enough. Unfortunately, you never did but that still didn't give her the right to take advantage of you, just because she knew that you'd let her."

"You're right of course" Taking a seat at her side, he looked at her straight in the eye "But I used her too Lois, it wasn't all one sided."

"I know" She replied without pause and at the uncomfortable look on his face, smiled crookedly "My fiancé has been extremely open with me about his relationship with Lana and why he chased her so relentlessly. Although I have my own opinion on the matter, I do believe him when he says that all he wanted was a normal life but was guy enough to want that life with the prettiest, most sought after girl in school."

"I was such an ass Lois, but I was young and scared and so fierce in my desperation to be human" He disclosed wearily "I used to wish on every falling star, four leaf clover, dandelion or wishbone that I saw, found or got that I'd become just like all the other kids at school. Growing up, people learn to be more sympathetic and less judgemental of others but you know what children are like, how cruel they can be." Seeing her nod, he smiled sadly in remembrance "I used to see some poor souls get picked on mercilessly for the stupidest things and not wanting to be next in the line of fire, learnt to hide that I was different and not draw attention to myself but I never stopped wishing and then one day dad told me that I was an alien. You honestly can't imagine the blow I received that day." Stopping, he tapped his foot for a few seconds before reaching for the cigarettes.

Brows flying up, she was astonished as he lit up but ended by advising drolly at his coughing fit "You're supposed to blow the smoke out, not swallow it."

"Let me try that again" Taking a second drag, he blew out a pathetic puffy little stream and smiled pleased with himself "What'd you think?"

"Better…" She praised faintly before adding with a shamed smile "But I'm not sure that corrupting you to the dark side was my best idea to date."

"I was corrupted 8 years ago when I married you know who" He replied deadpan, causing her to cough out a lung full smoke "You're supposed to blow it out Lois, not swallow it."

"Thanks for the tip" She replied while wiping her streaming eyes.

Smiling lightly, he straightened his shoulders and continued without ceremony "Smallville told you that he wanted a normal life with the prettiest girl in school but he's not altogether right. Unlike him, I've had years to look back and reflect; to remember what it was about Lana that first caught my eye. Do you know what it was? It was seeing the way she was treated like the favoured child." He asked and answered before she could speak. Seeing her brows lift, his lips crooked up "She didn't just wake up one day when she was 15 to discover that she was suddenly the town princess, even in pre-school she was treated that way and I noticed but I couldn't understand why. It's not that I didn't like her, it's just that I was only in first grade, so girls didn't interest me but Lana started to because I was intuitive enough to see that everyone thought she was special. Only in her case special was a something to be admired, while in mine it had to be hidden and I wanted to know her secret."

He looked at Lois and laughed unamused "That's funny isn't it; talk about irony." Sighing heavily, he shrugged and said "So that's how it all started and it snowballed from there but it wasn't as intense then as it became when I got older. If it was, I can promise you that Pete who was my only friend before Chloe came along, wouldn't have stuck around nor put up with me talking about her non-stop. Unfortunately, what began as simple curiosity grew into a crush that wasn't so innocent when I began spying on her but it only became an obsession, after Lana started talking to me."

Understanding, Lois added slowly "Because she was no longer oblivious to your existence, all your fantasies about the two of you seemed within reach."

"Yes" He agreed starkly "I truly believe that if Lana had never noticed me, I would have gotten over it much sooner but from the moment she first did, it changed everything."

"But she didn't just notice you Clark, she did everything short of rubbing her panties in your face to keep you salivating over her" Lois stated crudely and with a lip curled in contempt told him flatly "Lana didn't want you to get over it. If she did, she wouldn't have sleazed all over you while supposedly being crazy about every guy that she hooked up. She wanted you to covet her like a druggie does his next fix, so that she could keep you in line and under her boot heel; even blind Freddie could see what she was up to."

"I couldn't, all I could see was her" He said simply "Her talking to me, her smiling at me, her being friendly to me. It didn't matter that more often than not she was spitting and hissing at me like a cat, because I didn't see it as a flaw in her, I saw it as a failing in me. If I just told her what she wanted to know then she wouldn't be angry, wouldn't act like a shrew. Yet despite my refusal to give in, she still cared enough to tell me why she was upset and give me a chance to make it right, because she wanted us to be together. She wasn't looking past me, wasn't pretending that I didn't exist. She was seeing me, cared about me, wanted me, ME; Clark Kent!" Puffing away unhappily, he raked one hand through his hair and tried to explain where his mind was at "I know how pitiful all that sounds but I think in a way the reason I became so obsessively determined to have her, is because I saw Lana as my window." Seeing the puzzlement on Lois' face, he explained further "Before she befriended me, I was content to simply watch her from afar and day-dream, because I truly never expected to have anything more but the day that I found out I wasn't human, was also the day that Lana first held out the hand of friendship to me. So while the door to me being a normal Joe was forever closed, the window to Lana wanting me at long last was opened."

"Bad timing all round" Lois murmured in reply before asking "Your parents loved you but it wasn't the same, was it?"

"No, it should have meant more considering all the grief that I gave them but because I grew up knowing they'd love me no matter what, I took it and them for granted." Taking a deep breath, he looked at her and said in disgust "Lex would have done anything for Lionel to have loved him, the way my dad loved me. Chloe would have rejoiced not to have a mother in a mental asylum, Oliver would have gladly given up all his billions just to have his parents alive again, Ryan would have been grateful just to go one lousy day not to be used or abused by his step-parents and the list goes on and on but I couldn't see any of that. All I could see was my hopes of being normal being blown to smithereens, and Lana somehow making it all better." Sighing, he rubbed at the tension at the back of his neck "That's why I don't feel sorry for the boy I used to be Lois; he was showered with love and affection by family and friends and never went to bed hungry or scared like so many do. Yet instead of being grateful for what he did have, all he could do was moan about what he didn't and make everyone around him unhappy."

"Unfortunately, you picked the wrong girl to fantasise about but you were only a boy Clark" She reminded him gently.

"I was a child when I first noticed her, and I was a boy when she first talked to me but I was a young man of 19 when I married her Lois, so I was old enough to know better" He corrected summarily.

"19 Clark, do you know how many kids mistake infatuation or puppy love for the real thing; thousands" She smiled and tacked on drolly "Thousands upon thousands upon thousands. The divorce statistics for teenage marriage is horrendously grim. It's almost double to those who get married over 25; so you're far from the first one to get it wrong."

"But I wasn't a normal teenager Lois…" He countered swiftly "A normal teenager has the luxury of slacking off, screwing up, or thumbing their nose at responsibility to play house with their girlfriend because people's lives don't usually depend on them doing so; they did with me."

Hearing the steel in his voice and silently agreeing but feeling sorry for him all the same, she made a noise that could have meant anything and left it at that.

"Anyway, that's what I was trying to explain before I made such a hash of it" Sending her a swift smile, he shrugged helplessly "I truly wasn't trying to make Lana out to be a victim. I just…I knew you'd be angry about this mess and I didn't want you to think that I was going to pass the buck and blame it all on her, when I'm responsible for it too."

"Clark until now, I haven't been around for any of it" She reminded him "I wasn't there when Jo was in the future and I don't remember your time-line at all but from all accounts, I was happy. So I'm not angry with you…."

"Even though it's my marriage that did this" He cut in to point out steadily then held his breath waiting for her answer.

"Even though…." She confirmed honestly "If I'm going to be mad at you, then I'd also have to be mad at my fiancée and I just can't do it because…and I'm sorry if it hurts, but you were Jerome when you eloped with Lana…" Seeing his grimace, she smiled lopsided "You weren't the man that I was engaged to and I know for a fact if she'd asked THAT man to elope with her, he would have said no."

"He would have told her to take a flying leap" Clark put in lightly.

"I know" She said placidly. Ten seconds later, she laughed and at the curiosity on his face, shared openly "Back in the day, I occasionally wondered if it was written up in the town charter, that every resident of Smallville had to adore Lana Lang for no reason whatsoever and figured if that was the case, I was going to be thrown into local pokey for insubordination."

"I wish that I'd been insubordinate with you" He smiled amused.

"Are you kidding, you would have been the stool pigeon who ratted me out to the fuzz" She grinned, knocking his arms with hers.

Letting out a bark of laughter, he smiled unembarrassed "Back then yes, but these days I'd break you out of prison and go on the lam with you."

"Now that's my kind of hero" She winked and gave him a pat on the back in thanks.

Taking her words as a good sign, he mentally crossed his fingers and asked somewhat shyly "Um, you said that Smallville gave you a rundown about everything?"

"Mmm."

"Did he tell you about...?" Stopping to cough, he asked hesitantly "Was he able to explain what I was trying to earlier, about me and him being the same person I mean?"

At the question she understood what it was about him that had troubled her earlier. It wasn't him exactly it was the knowledge that he'd had dreams of her relationship with Smallville. He'd seen it all and although it had been beyond his control, it was a little unsettling to know that he knew, every intimate detail of their lives. However that was her problem, not his. It was something that she had to get over.

Seeing the discomfiture that she was trying to hide, he tucked away the sting of hurt and asked softly "So you know that I um...well you know how I feel about you and...and I just want to know if um…well if you…"

"Yes" She cut in mercifully on his fumbled speech. Seeing the hope and vulnerability that he was trying so hard to hide, she pushed aside her own awkwardness to let him down as kindly as possible "I'm sorry Clark but even though you and Smallville used to be one man, you're not anymore. You haven't been for 8 years now and in that time, you've lived a whole life separate to his. He's my fiancé; he's the man that I love. He's the one who knows our life together from living it with me, not from seeing it in dreams."

He dredged up a smile and let it shine "I figured you'd feel that way."

Not taken in by his demeanour but unwilling to pretend that she viewed him in a romantic light which would just cause more harm than good, she asked him simply "Tell me honestly, do you feel like you're my fiancée or Lana's husband?"

His shoulders drooped "Lana's husband."

"That's because you are. You married her, made a life with her and even though it didn't turn out the way you hoped, it still happened and you can't pretend that it didn't."

"No I can't, but the life I had with you was real too Lois" He disputed calmly "I can see by your face that you don't agree but it's true. The dreams weren't simply a fictional story that I saw when I closed my eyes at night; they were real memories of a life that I lived and lost when I married Lana."

Blowing out a deep breath, she asked outright "What's something that you know about me, just one thing and don't sugar coat it?"

"You're opinionated" He replied promptly.

Her lips twitched "Ok what's another?"

"You're bossy."

"Another."

"You enjoy shooting me down."

"You're not even trying" She accused with a small laugh.

He grinned but answered seriously "You're a down to earth kind of woman, who has both her feet planted very firmly on the ground."

"Yeah I am and although I don't understand how any dream can feel so real and honestly don't even want to go there, it doesn't mean that I think you're full of it." She stated candidly.

"Thank you" Clark replied, grateful that she didn't think he was nuttier than a fruit cake.

Although he was sad she didn't believe, he was grateful that this time she hadn't told him to forget about the dream woman and start life afresh. He couldn't blame her for saying that to him the last time. In his timeline, Lois had had a lot of information thrown at her and because she had no memory of their life together, it had been impossible for her to relate. However because of what she'd said then, it had been important to him that this time, she believed his dreams weren't just a fantasy borne from dissatisfaction with his marriage.

Giving his thigh a pat, she got to her feet "Why don't we go inside; its cold out here."

Nodding, he likewise stood "Well I can't say I want to take up smoking as a habit but at least I can say that I've tried it."

Opening the front door, she stepped inside while calling out gaily "How does it feel not to be a virgin anymore?"

"Awesome, now I just have to try…."

Trailing off at the sight of his mom, Chloe and Jerome sitting in the lounge room with aghast expressions on their faces making it clear they'd heard, Clark muttered crossly "Great; this is the second time I've gotten caught after busting my cherry and I thought that could only happen once in a lifetime", causing Lois to go off into a gale of laughter, Jerome to turn bright red with mortification and the women to look everywhere but at each other.

Managing to calm down, Lois grinned and explained "We weren't talking about sex."

"That's nice dear" Martha said faintly, almost causing her to go off again and causing Clark to join in.

Taking a peek at her fiancée and seeing that he was still fast asleep, she shook her head bemused "He told me that he was tired but he must have been completely wrecked or the commotion would've woken him up."

"It takes a lot for my son to get like that" Martha murmured concerned.

"Yeah" Sweeping one hand over his hair, Lois smiled when he rubbed his head against it like a cat but stepped back before she could unintentionally wake him up "Anyway, I feel kind of yukky from the hospital so I'm just going to nip over to the Talon for a shower and a change of clothes." Looking at her cousin, she held out a hand in expectation "Can I borrow your car Chlo?"

She nodded and started to hand over the keys but paused "Maybe I should drive just in case you start feeling unwell. The guys said it will hit you sooner or later and you don't want to take the chance of it happening while you're on the road."

"Fair enough..." Lois agreed without argument then turned to address the others "We shouldn't be long but if Smallville wakes up, can you please let him know where we are?"

"Of course but I was wondering…" Looking between the two girls, Martha proposed questioningly "Would you girls like to stay at the farm until this is all resolved. I know it will be a bit of tight squeeze but I'll feel better having everyone under the same roof, and I think my son's will too."

Clark agreed without hesitation while Jerome fumbled with indecision. On the one hand, he wasn't comfortable with having to witness his older selves interact with Lois but on the other, he was sure that if she elected to stay at the Talon, Smallville would join her and he didn't even want to contemplate what they'd get up to while alone. Figuring that seeing his brother's fawn over her was the lesser of two evils, he likewise agreed.

Reading her cousin's nod correctly, Chloe replied for both of them "We'd love to; thanks Mrs Kent."

Her smile grew in consequence "Good and while you're in town, would you mind getting a few things for me from the supermarket?"

"Of course not" Leaving the older woman to make a list of her needs, Lois snagged her purse and after checking the contents of the wallet, stepped over to Smallville and retrieved his "Well the credit card isn't any use but he's got about seventy dollar cash and I've got both cash and card, so we're good."

Checking his own wallet, Clark set his share on the counter "I've got just under a hundred."

"I've got money too Lo" Chloe added as a reminder.

"I don't expect any of you to pay for groceries while staying here."

"We can't let you foot the bill for all of us Martha" Lois argued firmly "Smallville doesn't need to eat, but that doesn't stop him from packing it away, which I'm sure you already know. So with three Clark's eating you out of house and home, you'll be broke in 24 hours unless we all chip in."

Smiling in understanding, the older women chuckled when her two sons shifted uncomfortably but didn't refute the charge.

"You pack it away too Lois" Chloe reminded her cousin straight faced then laughed when she received a sneer in reply but not a contradiction.

oOo

Coming awake at the clink of cutlery, Smallville yawned and stretched and opened his eyes, feeling better than he had in days….for about two seconds, when his mind began ticking and recalled the information that he'd been talking to Lois but she was no longer there. Unable to hear her voice, he shot to his feet with the intention of finding her and silently prayed that nothing else had gone wrong while he'd been fast asleep.

"Did you have a nice nap sweetie?"

At the question he spun around and seeing his mom and two brothers enjoying a late morning tea, relaxed slightly knowing they wouldn't be so calm if there was trouble but unable to quell his uneasiness, zipped over to answer and ask "Yeah I did mom thanks; where's Lois?"

"She wanted a shower and change of clothes, so she and Chloe went to the Talon. I've asked both girls to stay here until this is all resolved, so they're also packing some things to bring back and stopping in town to buy some groceries."

"How long ago did they leave?" He asked anxiously while looking at his watch.

"Honey they've been gone for almost an hour and half and I know they're fine because Chloe called not 10 minutes ago, to say they're on the way back" Martha replied soothingly "Why don't you have some coffee and cake?"

Breathing easier at her words, he took a seat and the proffered cup with a nod of thanks then cocked a brow at the smirk on Jerome's face "Something on your mind."

"Fighting with Lois wore you out huh, how embarrassing."

"I fell asleep because I haven't had much rest lately but FYI; I don't get exhausted arguing with Lois, I get heated and so does she. In fact we sometimes get so angry with each other that we need to work of some tension by um….now how can I put this delicately?" He tapped his lips playfully before sharing mock confidentially "Let's just say that I'm a man and she's a woman, so I'm sure you don't need me to draw you a diagram." Holding back a smile at Jerome's wince, he continued somewhat hesitantly "But maybe I've simply forgotten how manly if felt to run home and cry on mummy's shoulder, after Lana hurt my delicate girly feelings with her daily bitch session; why don't you enlighten me?"

Clark's shoulders shook as he snorted loudly into his mug.

Gnashing his teeth at the response, Jerome snapped back "For your information I don't cry like a baby and Lana doesn't reprimand me."

Clark snorted louder "What would you call it?"

"We're just...I mean she's just she's upset and I'm..."

"And you're what?" Smallville encouraged patiently when he broke off without finishing.

"She's upset and that makes me upset because I don't like to see her upset."

"That's a lot of upset" Clark remarked to no one in particular.

Smallville snickered and opened his mouth to comment but stopped when Martha held up a hand and remarked pointedly to all "Drink your coffee."

Sending her guilty smiles, they did as suggested.

Hearing a car pull up minutes later, the men looked round to x-ray through the walls and ensure they weren't about to be descended on by a surprise visitor, but relaxed at seeing it was the girls.

Stepping inside the house, Lois smiled at seeing her fiancée awake at last "Are you rested enough hon?" At his nod, she gave his back a companionable pat and swept her eyes over the men hopefully "There are a few grocery bags in the car, can you guys get them after your coffee?"

Smallville and Clark nodded compliantly and ignored the smirk that once again spread over Jerome's face.

"You can help them" Martha addressed her youngest son and held back her own smile at his obedient nod in return.

oOo

_20 minutes later_

Unable to believe the number of grocery bags that had been carried in, Martha asked somewhat astonished "Girls, did I ask for all this stuff?"

"No but we figured that as there's five of us, not including yourself that we'd better get enough so…" As the room began to sway and a feeling of nausea grew in her tummy, Lois waved one hand aimlessly and left them to make of her words what they wished.

Understanding what she meant but unaware of what was going on, Martha simply nodded then held back a smile at the amount of junk food that was unpacked.

"Some stuff we just wanted" Chloe tacked on embarrassed.

Feeling marginally better but too shaky to stand yet not willing to give into the weakness or draw attention to herself, Lois simply smiled at the mock growl from her fiancée that she was the only one not helping put stuff away and obligingly handed him a bag of potato chips.

Less than 3 minutes later, all turned at the loud bang to see a jar of strawberry conserve hit the floor and Lois falling of the stool to meet it.

Speeding over to scoop her up before she hit bottom, Smallville shook his head "I should have known she was going to conk out when she got so quiet."

Watching him stride from the room, Chloe blinked astonished "Wow, I know you guys said it was going to hit her fast, but I really didn't expect to see her take a swan dive onto the floor."

"I've never witnessed it but Smallville has and he said that it's perfectly normal" Clark replied hiding his own concern at the swiftness of the event.

Seeing the concern on the assembled audience upon his return, he quickly reassured "She's fine; she'll sleep for a little while now and will likely go to bed early tonight but tomorrow, she'll be back to normal."

Responding to the calm tone of his voice and demeanour, they all likewise relaxed.

"Why didn't she tell us that she was feeling unwell?" Martha asked aloud to no one in particular.

"Lois admit to a weakness; c'mon mom, that's just crazy talk" Jerome replied dryly.

Laughing but knowing he was right, all nodded in agreement and resumed putting the rest of the groceries away while keeping up a flow of chit chat about nothing of importance.

Once done and regretting the need to bring the conversation up but knowing it had to be dealt with, Chloe cleared her throat before asking the room at large "Um…what excuse are we going to give Lana for why Lois and I are staying here?"

Figuring that she'd better sit down for this, Martha took a seat at the kitchen table and mentally crossed her fingers that mention of the girls name, wasn't going to start the men up again.

"Do we have to tell her anything?" Smallville asked bored as he and the others joined her.

Waiting until they were all seated, Jerome announced smugly "Yep, as you pointed out earlier, Lana will ask questions."

"He's right" Clark put in glumly "I know my wife and if she has to spy on the farm, stake out the Talon or come round here sniffing and hinting for information, then she'll do it and call it socialising."

"I didn't mean that at all" Jerome snapped annoyed.

"Sure you did..." Smallville contradicted placidly "Well the best solution is for mom to say that she asked Lois to stay at the farm for a few days just to make that she's alright, and Chloe's staying to be close to her cousin."

"Ohhhh, so you want mom to lie to Lana for you; charming" Jerome countered with a contemptuous grunt.

"Honey, it was my idea for the girls stay here with us" Martha reminded him patiently.

"I know but you wouldn't have to lie about your reasons why, if they weren't intent on making all of us lie by hiding their presence from Lana in the first place" He replied stubbornly.

Quirking one brow in query, Smallville asked pointedly "And what do you suppose it's called that you've expected Chloe to do, not only to Lana but to her family and her friends and everyone else for well over a year now?"

"That's different."

"Different?" Smallville repeated scornfully "Well of course it is because you're the one benefiting from it, but woe betide everyone else for not speaking the absolute truth. They must be the spawn of Satan for telling falsehoods right?"

"Not quite everyone" Clark added pleasantly "I can think of one person who believes that she's entitled to lie to anyone, on any occasion and Jerome would never ever dream of criticizing her for it; want me to give you a clue who it is?"

"Let me think; now this is a toughie" Smallville struck a pose while pretending to muse out loud.

Giving them a superior look, Jerome retorted snippily "If you're talking about Lana then you're way off because I would so say something."

The men looked at him blankly for a space of 5 seconds before cracking up laughing.

Feeling a flush of embarrassment sweep over his cheeks at the disbelief the women weren't quick enough to hide, he muttered defiantly "I would and anyway I don't have to because she doesn't act like that."

When they laughed even harder, he glared them angrily, unsure if they were still laughing at him or this time at what he'd said about Lana.

Managing to calm down, Clark smiled in appreciation "Thanks for that, I haven't had such a good laugh in ages."

"Get lost."

"Now that's not very nice, especially when he's thanking you and all" Smallville censured smoothly.

"You get lost too."

Seeing the amusement flare in their eyes and determined to give a little of his own back, Jerome said loftily "Anyway I don't have time to waste on you two, I've got more important things to worry about."

"And what do you have to do that's sooo important?" Smallville asked cordially then quickly tacked on "Other than finding some unfortunate person that you can whinge to about Lana I mean."

Ignoring the taunt, he waved one hand dismissively "I have to discover if insanity runs in the family, and if so, is it too late for me to seek help." Shuddering dramatically, he finished sweetly "Of course, if there ever comes a day when I actually fancy Lois, I'll know that I'm beyond help and will book myself into Belle Reeve quick smart."

"Well then may I suggest you hurry over there right now" Clark advised helpfully "Maybe with a whole lot of luck, the doctors can use shock treatment to save the little that's left of your brain which Lana hasn't already rotted away."

"And he's speaking from experience" Smallville announced grandly.

"I know of what I speak" He confirmed sedately "After 8 years of marriage to the woman, no one knows better than me how quickly the brain can decay in her presence."

Cocking up one brow, Smallville asked jauntily "Did her incessant complaining ever make your ears bleed?"

"No, but I do seem to suffer from the earthly complaint of tinnitus whenever she opens her mouth" He replied in the same manner "That's a ringing in the ears for anyone who doesn't know."

Unlike Smallville who openly snickered, Chloe quickly pressed a hand against her mouth to stifle the giggles that wanted to pop out, while Martha bit the inside of her cheek determined not to betray her amusement.

Torn between wanting to defend Lana and insulting his older siblings, Jerome figured he could do both and retorted tightly "I wouldn't talk about Lana's shortcomings, when you two are proof that I get dementia in my 20's"

The men looked at each other then back at him without a word.

Goaded by their silence he pushed harder "So my number one priority is to ensure that it doesn't happen to me."

"Number two" Clark corrected seriously.

"Number one" He shot back swiftly.

"Two" Smallville merrily informed him.

"One."

"Two."

"One."

"Two."

"I know what my priorities are" He ground out exasperated.

"Then you've forgotten the most important one" Clark informed him soberly.

Knowing he was going to step right in it but unable to take it anymore, Jerome growled "And what's that?"

"Kissing Lana's bum" They replied together.

"Shut up" He returned weakly and threw a reproachful look at the ladies, whose best efforts to contain their amusement was less than useless.

"I'm sorry Sweetie" Martha cleared her throat of all traces of laughter from her voice "I should have been expecting it but I wasn't, so it just struck me as funny."

"Me too" Chloe tacked on apologetically.

Unappeased, he glowered sulkily "Well it's not funny and it's not true."

Sending the two men a speaking look when they rudely hooted, Martha gave the younger's hand a pat "Just because I laughed, it doesn't mean that I'm taking sides because I'm not, I promise."

"Nor am I" Chloe put in forthright "If any one of you makes a comment that tickles my funny bone, I'm going to laugh because I can't help it but in regards to the situation as a whole, I'm also not taking sides."

Wanting to ensure they all got the message, Martha looked each of them in turn "No matter what the outcome of this is, at the end of the day I just want my son to be happy because I love him and I'm talking about all three of you; ok?"

Hearing the sincerity in their voices, they nodded gratefully.

Deciding it was time to stop taunting, Smallville said seriously "Look Jerome, despite the years of difference between us and the disparity in our outlook because of it, I do remember what it was like to be you. So I know you really believe that you'll always love Lana."

"Yes I do but what I don't believe is that any other version of me would feel differently, if he was really me" He stated firmly.

"Are you calling us liars?" Smallville's asked politely "Are you saying that you don't believe we're older versions of you."

Uncaring of the ice under the tone, he nodded "That's right; if you were then you'd still love Lana."

"You don't believe because you haven't lived our lives, but we have lived yours" Clark put in steadily.

"So what's your point; that you know better than me?" He challenged gruffly.

"That's exactly the point" Smallville replied patiently but at the disbelieving grunt, turned to Clark "Can I hit him?"

"Go ahead, it won't change my mind" Jerome shrugged indifferently.

Figuring if he didn't intervene they'd get nowhere fast, Clark changed the subject by asking directly "What do you know about Lana?"

"What'd you mean?"

"I mean what are her likes, her dislikes, her hopes, her dreams, her personality traits etc.; what do you know about her?"

Unsure if this was a trick or not but determined to show them how well he knew the girl that he loved, Jerome gathered his thoughts before announcing readily "Well I know that she can be shy on occasion. She's a nice person and very friendly. She's pretty but isn't stuck up about it and she's a stickler for honesty. I admire that about her, even though it makes it hard for us to be together because of my secret."

"Hmm, that's interesting" Clark replied amiably "Before I married Lana, I would have said the same thing but now I can confidently tell you, that what I actually knew about her was so miniscule, that it could have fit on the head of a pin with room to spare."

"But that's just you, which further proves that we're not the same person" Jerome retorted flatly.

"Actually it proves that we are" He said calmly.

Cautious not to walk into a trap yet intensely curious, Jerome asked "How; you just said…"

"I just said that I would have mentioned all those things you did. If I was a different person to you, I likely wouldn't have cared less about Lana one way or the other and we'd have nothing to argue about."

An unwilling smile was dragged from Jerome at his words but was swiftly replaced by a frown. Clark fascinated him because he was lucky enough to be married to Lana but the fact that he wasn't happy about it, repelled. Wanting to know yet wary of the response, he asked offhand "So what about all the things that I mentioned?"

"Those aren't facts that you know about her, they're attributes that you've bestowed on her" He replied without hesitation. Ignoring the head shake, he continued sedately "It's true; don't you remember all those long intimate talks you had with her photograph up in the loft?" Seeing the red suffuse the boy's cheeks, he smiled sympathetically "I used to talk with Lana's photo for hours on end. That's right, I talked with it, not to it and I never ran out of words because I had so much to say, and since I just knew that Lana and I were completely in sync, her presence during our little chats was never necessary. In fact, it's even safe to say that she would have been de trop." Stopping to take a breath, he stated grimly "That may sound funny but it's not. When I actually started conversing with Lana face to face, I didn't feel the need to put any effort into getting to know her, because I felt that I already knew her better than she knew herself, from all the heart-to-hearts I'd had with her photograph. That wasn't only detrimental to me, it was unfair to Lana. I not only made it impossible for her to live up to all the sparkling character traits that I'd heaped on her during those long talks, I didn't even bother putting myself out to get to know her, because the only Lana who mattered to me was the girl in the photo and she lived inside my head."

Uncomfortable with the scenario but insulted at the implication that Lana didn't matter to him, Jerome thrust out his jaw mutinously "That's not true."

"You know it is" He countered easily "How much of your time have you invested in getting to know Lana in the last 5 years?"

"A lot" Jerome declared defiantly.

"Really; a lot…" He stated doubtfully before inviting freely "Ok so tell me; what sort of music does she like? Who's her favourite band or singer? What kind of books does she enjoy reading; does she favour a particular genre or author or does she prefer to flick through glossy magazines? How about movies; does she prefer chick flicks over action or is she a science fiction buff? Does she like watching documentaries on TV and if so what kind? Is she fascinated by history and if so, what time or event attracts her the most or is her interest based more in the future? What was her favourite subject at school and was it Geometry or Geography that she struggled with? Does she actually like football or is she just attracted to football players? Does she keep up with current events because she thinks it's important, only read the headlines to stay in touch or does she think all news is boring? Is she allergic to any particular foods and if so which ones? What perfume does she absolutely hate? What makes her laugh? What does she enjoy doing in her spare time? What are her hobbies? What…."

"Art; I know she likes art" Jerome jumped in to pronounce proudly.

"Yeah, she likes it so much that she studied astronomy and meteors in the short time that she attended college, which was only a year after going on about how much she liked art" Smallville tossed in jeeringly.

"She does like it" Jerome defended annoyed "She even went to Paris to study it in case you've forgotten."

"Well I would have said that I loved art too, if I knew that I could get a free trip to Paris out of it" He drawled scornfully.

Deciding it wasn't worth his while to remind his older brother that Lana had intended to pay for herself, since he knew that Smallville would just come back with yet another slur against her, Jerome contented himself with shooting him a dirty look.

"Smallville; you're not helping…" Clark frowned at his twin before turning back to Jerome "What you said about art is correct but I don't recall showing much, if any interest in her sudden enthusiasm for it and you'd think that I would. I mean Lana's sudden interest in art wasn't something that I'd known about her previously, so I certainly hadn't discussed it with her photograph and since I was always looking for a lure to capture her attention with, all I had to do was spend half a day zipping to a bunch of libraries or Art Galleries in America to bone up on the subject and then using her sudden fascination with it as was a way to do that. Moreover, from the little that I understand about art, the appreciation of it is a very personal and individual thing. So it was also an opportunity for me to really get inside Lana's head and learn more about her if I wanted to, yet I didn't even make an attempt and I bet that you didn't either; am I right?" Taking the chagrin on the boy's face as an answer, he turned to Smallville "How about you?"

"No, but then I was you and you were me and we were Jerome so…"

"Precisely" Following up that question with another, Clark asked "So despite being fascinated with all things Lana Lang, why didn't we take this juicy little plumb that was dropped right into our laps, to either get closer to her or learn more about her?" Unsurprised at the lack of response, he answered his own question "I'll tell you why, it's because unless the subject had to do with Clark Kent, what Lana felt and thought and cared about, had no value to us."

"That's a lie."

"Is it?" He asked quietly "You said that you've spent a lot of time getting to know her but I've just pointed out one way how you could have done that, yet didn't."

"There were other things on my mind if you recall" Jerome said superciliously.

"I recall that trying to win Lana for my own was very important; even more than the escaped phantom zoners are to you now and you didn't have them to occupy your mind two years ago, when art was Lana's newest fad" Clark said flatly. Not expecting a response and not getting one, he said bluntly "You've spent so much time thinking about Lana and the short time you dated her, that the fairy tale you've turned that period into, bores little resemblance to reality but actually getting to know Lana isn't something you've cared to do, from the day you realised that she not only had feet of clay but principles that would forever clash with yours."

"Bull!"

"I was you Jerome so you can't hide from me. You can hide from mom and you can hide from Chloe and you can hide from the rest of the world, but you can't hide from me or Smallville" He said in a voice that rang with conviction "The reason our relationship with Lana had so many problems, is because we never cared about the real girl, and she only cared about holding onto a boy who was not only willing to overlook anything she did but to actually go the extra mile and blame others for her behaviour, just so that he could have a clear conscience about being with her."

Insulted, Jerome stated heatedly "That's not true, I wouldn't do that."

"You've been doing that for years now" Smallville put in sedately "You never hesitate to tell someone off when they do the wrong thing but you don't do it to Lana; why?" His brows rose pointedly "Don't bother coming up with an answer, I'll tell you why. It's for the same reason that I did it, because I knew that she was no good but I wanted her and if my morals had to suffer in the exchange, then so be it."

"Please remember that you were supposed to be me" He sneered openly.

"I know" Smallville inclined his head accepting the hit.

Jerome's mouth tightened angrily "She is good and my morals don't have to suffer anything."

"A truly good person wouldn't be led astray as often as Lana seems to be" He retorted coolly before rolling on without pause "I don't even have to ask if it's become routine for you to either excuse her behaviour or make excuses for it because I already know the answer but here's something for you to think about Jerome. Everyone messes up and more often than not, they don't require someone else's assistance to do so but apparently Lana is the exception. She frequently wanders off the straight and narrow, yet somehow it's never her fault. Now Clark and I have already admitted why it suited us to pretend she was perfect and what'd you know, our reasons align. Why don't you give it a shot?"

"I didn't say that she was perfect, I said that she was good" He corrected through gritted teeth.

"Ok so you've got the floor; why don't you give us an example of when Lana wasn't so perfect?" Smallville swept out one hand invitingly "You can tell us exactly who she offended or how she screwed up, and since you believe that you don't overlook her flaws, then you can further explain what you said when you told her off for it. How apologetic she was when you brought it to her attention, and how grateful she felt to you afterwards for setting her straight?"

Unwilling to respond, his face became stony.

"You can't, because there's never been such an occasion" Clark revealed after a minute of silence "You don't hold Lana to the same high standard that you expect from everyone else because you know that if you try, she'll not only let you down, she'll topple of that pedestal you've got her on, faster than all your super-speed can build it up again. Smallville and I aren't picking on you Jerome; we're just as guilty of doing the same thing" He looked his young twin in the eye and said straight out "I honestly wish that when I was you, that I had said something whenever Lana did the wrong thing, at least then I could say that I truly had cared about her enough, to at least try and help her to become a better person, but I didn't. All I cared about was staying on her good side, so I kept silent. Not for her sake but for mine. "Seeing the barely perceptible flinch, he inclined his head in acknowledgement "As if that isn't bad enough, every time you and me and Smllallville chose to overlook her faults instead of just accepting her as she was without apology, we were effectively brushing her aside as unimportant because we simply didn't want to deal with her imperfections, even though they're a part of her. That's not love, that's avarice. All of which proves that we never cared a damn about her as a person, just as trophy. Lana was our reward to make up for the cruel hand life had dealt us, for being born an alien."

Jerome shook his head in denial while fighting the urge to cover his ears.

Noting his reaction, Clark hammered harder "Before I dated Lana, before you dated her, we managed to evade every opportunity that we were given to look beneath the façade and see the person she was but due to all the discord that existed between us, getting her was our only priority nothing else. However when we dated her, it would have been natural for us to be inexhaustibly determined to discover every tiny little thing about this girl that we supposedly loved. Yet the only thing we were interested in discovering, was how to hold onto her and even that wasn't for Lana's sake; it was for ours." Sitting forward, he stated precisely "You knew, just as I did that if you looked too closely, you wouldn't like what you'd see. So you shut your eyes and closed your ears because you weren't about to let anyone or anything, not even Lana _**herself**_, upset the little fantasy world that you were living in, once she was your girlfriend."

"You're wrong."

"He's right and we both know it" Smallville remarked feeling mighty uncomfortable himself "It's not easy for Clark and me to look back and admit that we were no better Jerome. We've just learnt it's easier to face your mistakes and go on, than it is to keep lying to yourself about them."

"I'm not" He refuted doggedly "And I'll have you know there's no supposedly about it; I do love her."

"If you love her, then why don't you really see her?" Smallville asked simply.

"I do."

Feeling weary, he sighed and bobbed his head "Alright, so let's just test that using your own words shall we." Flicking up a finger, he started to count "You said that she was friendly; ok well if she's so friendly, then why did she ignore my very existence for years, even though she lived right next door with her Aunt Nell?" Not waiting for a response, he continued "Now I'll admit that I didn't go out of my way to converse with her either but that's because I fancied her like mad, so was intimidated to even approach her. However Lana didn't have that excuse. She never gave me a first thought, much less a second one and she certainly wasn't interested in me romantically. So what was stopping her from saying hello, how are you or just waving at me in passing?"

"She can be shy, I pointed that out too" Jerome reminded him smugly.

"So you did and that brings me to the next point on my list…" He replied genially "I must have blinked and missed the one second in her life, when Lana was a shrinking violet. You'll have to fill me in on the details but before you do that, just refresh my memory. At what point was she bashful on the night you talked to her for the first time? Was it before or after, she nudged you to find out if you were gay two minutes after saying hello?" This time he waited for a response and not getting one, forged right ahead "You were a 15 year old kid hanging out in a cemetery at night time and since you're clearly not a short blonde vampire slayer, there must have been something of weight on your mind. What if that something had been fear or confusion that you might be gay and you weren't ready to face the truth yet? Would you have wanted to reveal something so personal, to a girl who just happened to live in the same town as you and who for all you knew, was going to blab it to every Tom, Dick and Harry at school the next day?"

Shaking his head, Smallville added cynically "Now I'm sure Lana was already aware that I had the hots for her and simply wanted to confirm that I was straight because one, my feelings were obvious to anyone with even the lowest IQ and two, because she was never slow in recognising a lovesick swain when he crossed her path. But don't try telling me that she's shy; sell that baloney to someone who doesn't know better, ok?" A third finger flicked up "Next; you said that she's a stickler for honesty, so why did she hide her relationship with Jason from you and everyone else? What was that all about? Where was all her much vaunted need for trust and openness then? And why did she feel free to jab at you for withholding secrets, yet was intent on keeping her own?" Sitting back, he finished blandly "The only thing I won't dispute with you about is that she's pretty because she is but only on the outside. Any other arguments you care to bring up, I'll be happy to disprove."

While Jerome kept his gaze on the table fighting the urge to run away and not listen, the women didn't so much as move. Both wanted to stop the men from destroying his dreams so mercilessly, yet knew that this was what he needed to hear and not having the heart to do it themselves, held their peace and hoped it would be over soon.

Keeping his eyes fixed on his younger brother, Clark took up the thread hoping that what he said now would get through, if nothing else did "Jerome, the only reason you believe that Lana is the answer to all your prayers, is because you haven't been with her long enough to know. You've only imagined being married to her but for the past 8 years, I LIVED that life you want and it wasn't the bowl of cherries that I was expecting or that you've fantasied about." Looking back, his lips twisted in regret "The first 18 months were wonderful. I was on cloud nine and didn't believe my feet would ever touch the ground again but when I came down to earth, I came with a bang. Not only did I discover that I didn't have the first clue about this girl that I was married to, I found that all the little things that I'd never liked about her so brushed off as unimportant, were real defects in her character that weren't so easy to live with, when there's no way out. I didn't have the option of breaking up with her just long enough to forget all the crap, or cast it aside as insignificant in the joy of getting her back again. I wasn't just dating her, we weren't together for a quick fling that would only last for a few days or weeks or months and she was no longer a fantasy girl that was out of reach. She was my wife and I'd made promises to her. So I took the time to get to know her and soon learnt that other than superficially, Lana was not the person I'd fooled myself into believing that she was."

Seeing the stubborn look enter the boy's eyes again, he shook his head "The real problem isn't your secret Jerome but because Lana has put all her focus on it and you find it almost impossible to think of anything except for her and the fact that you're an alien, you've gotten into the bad habit of believing your secret is the only thing standing in your way but it's not. It's not even the most important; there's a whole lot more." Swallowing heavily, Clark finished unhappily "I'd once heard the saying, 'experience is a good teacher but she sends enormous bills', yet it never struck home until I was the one paying that bill. I've been paying it for 6 years now and if you continue to hold onto the lie that you've been cherishing about Lana just to get what you want in the present, one day you'll be paying that bill too."

When he grew quiet, Jerome swallowed hard once and again before looking up with a face filled with purpose "I'm sorry that you've been unhappy but I can't let your mistakes rule my life. The only mistake I've made is letting Lana go."

Smallville smacked his forehead "He is you."

"If he was me then he'd still love Lana, and so would you" Jerome countered doggedly.

"Who do you think we are exactly?"

"You could be anyone" He replied evasively.

"Right; anyone who looks like you, was born on Krypton like you and has the same history as you; sort of narrows the field don't you think?"

"I didn't say that I don't believe you're both Clark Kent.…"

"How gracious of you" Clark announced dryly.

"But if you were really ME…" Jerome tapped himself on the chest in emphasis "….then you'd know the one thing I've never doubted is my love for Lana and I'm not going to start now; no matter what anyone says."

Clark turned to his twin and invited freely "I give up Smallville, you can hit him."

"You mean he can try" Jerome retorted unimpressed.

"He means that I can and the urge to pound some sense into you is overwhelming, so don't push me too far" He advised the younger man stonily "Tell me Jerome; if Clark had just finished telling you a lovely little story about wedded bliss with Lana Lang, would you then believe he was an older you or would you still think he was just some other random Clark Kent?"

"A lot of weird things happen in this town, so I'd be suspicious" He fibbed valiantly.

"Liar! You'd be like a dog panting at his feet and begging for any scraps that he'd willing to share" Smallville retorted scathingly "The problem is that you only ever hear what you want to hear; otherwise you're just not interested." Seeing the determined set of his younger counterparts jaw, he ground out in exasperation "Did anything he say get through your thick skull; anything at all?"

"I know how I feel."

"You know jack shit" He growled impatiently.

"Excuse me" Martha put in softly.

He heard the warning in her tone and threw her an apologetic glance "Sorry mom, but I'm sick of this."

"Sick of what exactly? That I'm not going to roll over and play dead because you both expect me too" Jerome demanded obstinately.

"We were hoping that you'd at least keep an open mind, but we should have known better."

"You mean that you were hoping to railroad me into believing that Lois is the love of my life" He snorted indelicately "Fat chance of that ever happening."

Smallville's eyes narrowed "Be very careful how you talk about Lois."

"Oh I'm so terrified" He mocked trembled and added scornfully "Don't expect me to play nice about Lois, when you feel free to badmouth Lana."

"We haven't badmouthed her; we've badmouthed you!" Smallville pointed his finger in emphasis.

"Boys please" Martha put in worriedly.

Ignoring her, Jerome retorted "I heard what you said about her."

"How could you hear anything when your head's so far up Lana's ass, that your ears are blocked with her shit?" Smallville kept his eyes locked on Jerome's "That's right; Lana Lang is full of shit, which explains why everything that comes out of her mouth is complete crap. There! Now I've badmouthed her."

"Guys…" Chloe began but was also ignored when Jerome leant forward and growled "Well Lois…" Unable to come up with anything halfway good he almost had him bouncing in his seat with rage "She smokes and swears and she talks too much."

"Oh hell call the cops, the woman's clearly a criminal" He sneered openly.

Feeling stupid at the argument he'd put forth against her, Jerome hissed "You may not care about any of that stuff but I do."

"Spare me the holier than thou garbage" He cut in disgusted "Considering all the crap that you've pulled, you have no right to throw stones at anyone else and when you have to dig so deep to come up with anything so lame, it's beyond pathetic."

Flushing at that, Jerome glared at him "Lame or not, I wouldn't have Lois gift wrapped in solid gold paper."

"Considering your taste in girls is bloody appalling, I've no doubt she'd be very grateful to hear that" He snapped back.

"That doesn't say much for her taste or yours then does it?" Jerome sneered nastily.

"Actually, it says a great deal about the difference between boys and men" He corrected flatly.

"Boys please don't fight" Martha called out and turned to Clark hoping that he could help straighten them out but upon seeing the gigantic grin on his face, asked irritated "What's so amusing?"

"The way Smallville just took what Jerome said and turned it back on him in a beautifully phrased put down" He chuckled entertained "He just called Jerome an idiot child, who was too immature for Lois to want and so puerile that he not only had the bad taste to fancy Lana, but couldn't do any better than her until he grew up anyway."

Hearing Clark's words and not missing the laughter or the goading behind it all, Jerome felt his anger escalate at both his brothers.

"That's not funny" Martha growled frustrated "Now stop encouraging their petty bickering and put a stop to it."

"Sure mom; sorry" Clark murmured penitently and clearing his throat of all humour, called out peaceably "Smallville stop belittling Skipper; mom doesn't like it."

Chloe slapped her forehead, Martha snarled low in her throat, Smallville let out a bark of laughter and Jerome swung round to retort incensed "Don't call me Skipper!"

"And what are you going to do about it if he does; cry?" Smallville taunted deliberately egging his younger brother on.

"I'll knock his teeth down his throat and then I'll do the same to you" He ground out while looking from one to the other.

"You and what army; you're so weak that you couldn't pull the skin of hot milk" Smallville mocked, causing one brother to go into an explosion of laughter and the other into one of fury which only climbed higher when he didn't get even get the chance to come up with a retaliation, before being told in a voice ripe with irritation "But FYI little brother, Clark and I never even mentioned Lois. You're the one who brought her up, not us. We were just trying to save you from ending up like him."

"Like hell…" He barked heatedly "You just want me to toe the line. Well FYI big brother, I prefer to learn from my own mistakes."

"You haven't learnt a damned thing except how to be more obnoxious."

"If being obnoxious means believing that I'll stop loving Lana then you're right; I'll NEVER unlearn that" He snarled angrily "And if being open minded means believing that marrying her will lead to a lifetime of disappointment, then I'd rather be close minded and take my chances because I know you're WRONG!"

"Boys please" Martha called pleadingly but this time didn't turn to Clark for help, feeling that she could well do without his assistance.

Ignoring her as Jerome had done, Smallville kept his eyes on his young twin and challenged roughly "Why don't you put your money where your mouth is."

"I don't have any money."

"Well one day when you decide to stop sitting on your ass feeling sorry for yourself, you'll discover that in the real world bills have to be paid and you need money to pay them. So for the first time in your life, you'll actually get off your can long enough to get a job and then you will have money" He retorted bluntly.

Resentful at the intimation that he was nothing but a useless slacker, Jerome leant forward and demanded "What's the wager?"

"I say that one day you will fall in love with Lois Lane and will do anything for her to feel the same way about you."

"That will never happen" Jerome declared flatly.

Unperturbed, he clarified to ensure all parties understood "While you say that you'll always love Lana Lang."

Crossing his arms, Jerome nodded "That's right."

"Ok, so let's get this down on paper and we'll all sign it. Mom and Chloe will be our witnesses. On this date in 2015 which is the year that we come from, whoever's wrong has to pay mom..." Turning to his twin, he asked swiftly "How much should make him pay?"

Clark thought about it for a moment before answering "One thousand dollars. That's a nice round number and broken up, its $100 for every year between now and 2015 and an extra $200 just for being the idiot child you called him."

Smallville flashed out a shark like grin "I like it."

Insulted anew at hearing that expression, Jerome growled "I don't need to sign anything because I know that I'm right."

"If you know that you're right, then you shouldn't have any hesitation about signing your life away, should you?" Clark asked rhetorically while reaching over for the pad and pen to pass to his twin.

"I also don't appreciate being called an idiot child" He snapped back insulted.

"Well we don't appreciate being called frauds, so I guess we're even" Smallville waved him off dismissively while scribbling out the wager. Satisfied with the contents, he read it out loud "How's that, are the terms clear enough?" At the silent nods, he signed his name then passed it to Clark who dashed of his before pushing the pad and pen across the table to Jerome. At his hesitation, Smallville's brows rose pointedly "Well come on; you know better than us remember. So just sign on the bottom line and we're good to go."

Torn between laughter and she didn't know what, Martha protested "Honey, none of you have to pay me anything."

"Strictly speaking mom, when we're merged back together it'll be the Jerome part of us that pays up" Clark replied calmly.

"That's correct but I think it's safe to say that the Smallville and Clark parts, will be having a good laugh at his expense for being an idiot child back in the day" His twin tacked on tauntingly.

His words spurred Jerome on to pick up the pen and scratch out his signature before tossing it down like a gauntlet. Passing the notebook and pen to his mom and Chloe for their signatures, Smallville remarked pleased "In 8 year's you'll be a thousand bucks richer mom."

"Only if I lose, which I won't" Jerome sneered unconcerned.

"It doesn't matter who wins, mom will still get the money" Clark said frankly "But just knowing that you're going to lose makes it all the sweeter, even if I am laughing at myself."

"For me too" Smallville took the note out and tucked it into his wallet.

"Why are you keeping it?" Jerome asked suspiciously "How do I know that I can trust you?"

Conceding the point, he got it out "So where shall we put it then?"

"How should I know, I just know that I don't want it going in your wallet" Jerome answered unhelpfully.

Hoping to prevent yet another argument from breaking out when the first had just finished, Martha held out one hand "Give it to me; I'll put it away somewhere safe."

"Um guys, if no one's going to remember that you were here, how are you going to remember why you wrote the note in the first place?" Chloe looked from one to the other questioningly "Also, you'll know who Clark and Smallville are but how will you that Jerome isn't some random person, when you don't usually use your middle name?"

"Also honey's, even if you know that Jerome is you, won't you think it's odd that you've signed the note three times, using three different names?" Martha followed on with her own question.

Nodding, Smallville retrieved the paper from her and added a postscript "Ok, I've just added a note that I'm not to ask myself any questions, just pay up. Also, since this bet is about Lois and Lana specifically, I've also put down that whoever wins has to do or buy something special for the lady, equal to the amount we're paying mom; everyone agree." Taking it for granted they did, he noted his initials beside the added text and passed it on "Just put your initials next to mine if you approve the change."

"But honey, that's means you'll be out $2,000" Martha trailed off with a disbelieving laugh.

"Yeah but Lois is worth it mom" Smallville smiled unconcerned.

"You mean Lana" Jerome jumped in swiftly.

"No, I mean Lois" Smallville retorted smoothly and giving Jerome a false smile, offered handsomely "Maybe I should leave you a list of her favourite things. You know, for future reference."

"That's not necessary since I don't anticipate losing" He returned in a like manner "But maybe I should write you one for Lana. You know, to jog your memory."

"How could you me write anything about Lana, when you don't have a clue?" He asked pleasantly.

"Why would you write anything about Lois, when I care even less?" Jerome asked just as pleasantly.

"Guys please, not again" Chloe implored feelingly.

Not paying any attention, Clark jumped in to advise kindly "One day you will care, so you'd better start saving up your pennies."

"And one day there'll be people living on Mars but I won't hold my breath" Jerome returned sweetly.

At that, the two men began to laugh.

Knowing they were laughing at him and not liking it or trusting them, he asked bad tempered "What's so funny?"

"You've already met a Martian who now lives on Earth" Smallville grinned hugely "You were hallucinating that you were in a mental hospital at the time."

Recalling the incident, his eyes narrowed "I wasn't sure what was real and what wasn't."

"Well J'onn was real but do you know what's absolutely priceless?" Seeing the suspicion on Jerome's face, he grinned even wider "The only place that we've ever found happiness with Lana Lang, took place in a mental delusion."

Almost falling of his seat in a hearty burst of laughter, Clark sputtered out "So it's because I'm not of my rocker that I've had little joy in life since saying I do; that explains a lot."

"It also explains just how batty we must have been to actually imagine her being nice to us for once" He snickered in return.

"Yeah but we were sane enough to be so scared by it that we kept running away from her" Clark shuddered in mock fear "Mind you; I was ready to run when I saw what she did to the loft."

"You and me both" He shuddered in return.

Fed up with their taking the mickey at Lana's expense, Jerome began pointedly "Please remember that I was willing to have the procedure…"

"The procedure…" Smallville cracked up and asked Clark jovially "Remember that big ass drill coming towards your head."

"Oh yeah and I also remember Lana's weird little smile, that was even more chilling than what she did to the loft" When Smallville nodded while making a 'eeee' face, Clark added entertained "But what I particularly recall was the doctor telling me the process was going to be painless, yet didn't bother giving me any anaesthesia even thought he was going to be drilling into my skull."

"Well in his defence he knew that we were shacked up with Lana, so must have figured that we were already brain dead" Smallville replied earnestly.

"He'd be right and I should know" Clark added, causing the two of them to erupt into laughter.

Chloe and Martha looked at each other feeling torn at the turn in the conversation. On the one hand the men's laughter was infectious but the scowl on Jerome's face showed he didn't appreciate their sense of humour. Unfortunately, Clark had never gone into detail with them about the delusion, so they felt somewhat lost at the topic, yet had to fight against the urge to give into the smiles twitching on their lips.

Holding onto his temper by a thread, Jerome glared at the men blackly and tried again "I was willing to give up everything for Lana in that delusion, which proves how much I love her."

Managing to calm down at last, the two simply shook their heads at him in pity.

"Giving up who you are and abandoning your responsibilities for Lana doesn't prove you're in love Jerome" Clark told him curtly "It only proves that you're a selfish child who doesn't spare a thought for anyone but yourself."

"What would you know about it?" He asked sulkily.

"I know a lot about it because that's exactly what I did when I was your age" He stated without inflexion "Which is yet more proof that I was you when I married Lana."

"You still have your powers" He put in suspiciously.

"Yes I still have my powers but it's only recently that I managed to get back my self-respect" He returned flatly "Try looking at yourself in the mirror after giving up that and you'll soon learn that hating yourself for being an alien, doesn't even compare."

Jumping in to the breach of silence left by Clark's words, Smallville queried pleasantly "Hey correct me if I'm wrong but didn't you say only a short time ago, that you've never doubted your love for Lana?" Not liking where this was going but knowing he had to answer, Jerome simply nodded then almost cringed when Smallville went on musingly "Well now that's really interesting. See I remember after that little freaky episode of mine, I told Chloe that I must still love Lana…." Leaning forward he emphasised "**MUST STILL**. Those two words aren't saying that I always loved her. In fact, they're making it quite clear that I didn't and needed something; in this case a delusion and a mental one at that, to not only stir up all those feelings for her again but to push me into actually wanting her back." He lifted his brows and stated politely "If you're not me, you wouldn't have used those exact words to Chloe after going through your own little delusion because apparently, you've never had any doubts. So, should I ask her or are you going to fess up?"

Shifting uncomfortably, Jerome flicked his eyes in Chloe's direction before saying weakly "I didn't exactly have doubts but since she's with Lex…"

"She was also with Whitney, Adam and Jason once upon a time but that didn't stop you, why is Lex any different; you either love her or you don't" He cut in to announce pleasantly "I never needed anyone or anything to brainwash me into loving Lois but it would take something that drastic to make me stop. Whereas with Lana, all I needed was a few months of her out of my face every day to forget about her and then something as drastic as a mental delusion had to tell me how to feel about her again."

"It didn't tell me how to feel about her, it simply reminded me how much I loved her that's all" Jerome bluffed boldly.

"But why should you need reminding?" Clark asked simply "What caused you to forget how you feel about her, less than a year after breaking up with her? It couldn't have been amnesia because I well recall the time I had that and still panted after her like a dog in heat. So what was your excuse? Did you have a lobotomy that I don't know about, take one too many knocks in the head and get brain damage, what?" Figuring the glare he received was Jerome's answer, he said cynically "Frankly I don't know what's worse, being instructed how to feel about her through a mental delusion or needing to be reminded how you feel about her by a mental delusion; either way it's no great compliment to you, Lana or your so called love for her is it?"

"Who cares" Jerome snapped peevishly "I know now that I still love her and I know that I'll feel the same way in 8 years and when I win the stupid bet, I'll buy her something special to make up for it."

"You won't win" Smallville stated absolutely.

"Don't be so sure" He countered cockily.

Wanting to cut him down to size, Clark chimed in scornfully "We can afford to be sure because we're from the future. In reality, you're nothing but a bad memory for both of us."

Jerome's eyes flashed in anger but instead of replying he bit out "I'm going to do some work outside." Pushing up from the table, he stomped to the back door and out the house.

"That wasn't nice" Martha scolded gently.

"I know mom and I didn't mean to be cruel but his attitude just gets on my nerves" Clark admitted shamefaced "I was him when I eloped with Lana, so I know how the story ends and it's not with happily ever after."

"I know sweetie but because you were him once upon a time, then try to understand where he's coming from" She replied with a soft touch to his hand.

"I don't have to try mom because I know all too well where he's coming from" He reminded her steadily "It's his dogmatic attitude about Lana which I used to have, that led to me marrying her in the first place. Well after years of living that so called dream, I don't have the patience to put up with him now, nor the tolerance to put up with his BS." He took a deep breath and likewise got to his feet "I'm sorry mom but I can't support his adolescent fantasies and I won't pretend that I do, not even to please you."

Martha watched him leave then turned troubled eyes to the son who was still present "Sweetie can't you talk to him?"

"If I talk to him mom, I won't be saying anything that you what me to." When she drew back as if slapped, he rubbed a hand over the back of his neck and tried to explain "When I first arrived in Clark's timeline, I thought he was happily married to Lana because he'd fooled me that good but after he left, you and Chloe told me it was all an act that he put on for the world to see. What was worse is that he'd retreated so far inside himself, that he kept all his misery locked away and refused to let anyone in; including both of you."

The women listened quietly and both hurt at knowing that the boy who could talk to them about anything in the present, would one day close himself off and not feel he could turn to either of them.

"I discovered out just how bad things were for him the next day, when I found some diaries that he'd stashed at the fortress. Afterwards, we returned her to the farm and the first time in six years, Clark opened up and talked to you about his life." Swiping one hand through his hair, Smallville kept his eyes directly on his mother's "Jerome's melancholy is self-inflicted and he can break out of it anytime he wants to mom, especially when there's a man right here, who's trying to warn him of what's to come if he keeps to his present course. But Clark's unhappiness was the result of a choice he made before he knew what consequences would be, yet he could do nothing but live with them." Rising, he stepped towards the front door but turned back before walking through "Jerome is just a love sick boy, wholly unable to see beyond his infatuation for Lana but Clark and I are the men who have paid a very heavy price for suffering from that affliction. I'll try to take it easy on him and I'll ask Clark to do the same but we won't champion any of his school boy fancies just to keep the peace or to make him feel better. We've already lived it mom, so our indulgence for it is now nil."

After he disappeared the two women sat silently.

Feeling like she was caught between the devil and the deep blue sea, Martha murmured concerned "We've got a problem."

"Yeah we do" Chloe nodded slowly in agreement "Although I understand where Clark and Smallville are coming from, they really do need to try and remember how they reacted when any opposition to being with Lana was put in their path, or there's going to be real trouble."

"Yes" She agreed simply "Having lived through it already, I can imagine it isn't easy for them to remain patient with Jerome but if they don't stop needling him and if he doesn't stop goading them, it's going to get very ugly, very quickly."

"After today's performance, the outcome is all too easy to imagine and it's not a battle that I'd want to be a spectator at" Chloe put in with a shudder "Smallville said he'll try to take it easy on Jerome and that he'll talk to Clark as well but someone, meaning you, is going to have to tell Jerome the same thing."

"I will and I'll also keep Lois as an option just in case things get sour" Martha suggested thoughtfully "The men might be inclined to listen to her but…"

"They might but that will only work if Jerome plays by the rules too" Chloe interrupted to caution "If he doesn't, then I imagine that all bets will be off and the three of them will be going for each other's throats morning, noon and night."

"That's what I was just about to add" She sighed and looked at the younger girl "It was my dumb idea for everyone to stay here wasn't it?"

"Uh huh and don't even think of going to work and leaving me here to deal with this lot by myself, because I'll just crawl into the back seat of your car and go with you."

"I've already told the office that I'll be working at home for a few days, so you don't have to worry that I'll throw you to the lions and run" Martha advised with a solemn cross of her heart.

"Thank you and don't worry that I'll leave you in the lurch either…" She likewise crossed her heart in return "My boss told me to take as much time off as I need to when I explained about Lois, so I'm also covered."

Sharing sympathetic looks, the two crossed their fingers and hoped that all would be well.

oOo

Looking up at the spears of ice, Jerome shook his head hopelessly. He didn't know why he'd come to the fortress or what he'd hoped to find. When he'd left the farm he'd simply wanted to get away and in the back of his mind, had thought Jor-el might have the answers on how to send his older brother's back to where they belonged but now realised there was no point in asking. Since it was magic that had brought them to his time, they'd leave only when they were ready to do so and not before.

There was nothing for him here.

Zipping back to the farm he saw them standing on the front porch and wanting to avoid them at all costs, headed toward his domain, the loft. However, at the sight of the two mattresses set up on the floor near the far wall, he grimaced. Everywhere he turned, they were there. It was bad enough that he had to put up with them at all but he'd managed to forget they'd be invading his sanctuary.

Turning his back on the sight, he took a seat at the desk and seeing the photo of Lana sitting pride of place on the top, felt his heart and his conscience prick.

Ok, so maybe he didn't know what perfume she was particularly fond off, or if there are any foods that she was allergic to, or what books she enjoys reading. He didn't need to know all of that to know her. He'd been friends with Chloe for years and didn't have a clue and the only reason he knew that stuff about Lois, was because she'd lived at the farm and was vocal about her preferences; not because he'd made it his business to find out.

He was a guy! Guys didn't care about that crap.

Maybe his brother's had missed that memo and he should remind them. In fact, maybe he'd do just that the next time they brought the subject up and tried to show him the error of his ways!

Besides it wasn't as if he was totally ignorant. He did know how Lana took her coffee and he did know that she liked the colour pink and he did know….well he did know a whole lot of other stuff that was so insignificant, he just couldn't think of it at the moment. But the point was that he had the rest of his life to learn all of Lana's likes and dislikes because he'd either be spending it with her or he'd be spending it alone thinking about her.

Anyway to his mind, the real issue wasn't his feelings for Lana, it was that his older brothers thought they knew better, when really all they'd done was forgotten how it felt to be him.

As a matter of fact, they seemed to have forgotten a whole lot of things. Like how completely happy he'd been for the first time in his life when she was his girlfriend and how devastated he felt about letting her go. How doing it for her sake hadn't made the decision any easier to live with and how fervently he'd wished it could be undone.

He couldn't understand how they failed to remember any of that, when it was almost the only thing on his mind every minute of every hour of every single day.

Until today, he'd been living under the illusion that he'd hit the height of his stupidity when he broke up with Lana but if his brothers were any examples, then it seemed he still had a long way to go. One was not only stupid enough to turn Lana down when she wanted him back; the other had the privilege of calling her his wife but was idiot enough to complain about it. As if that wasn't bad enough, they both loved Lois.

Lois!

Had the world gone mad!

Lois was the poster girl for everything he couldn't stand in a woman. Sure there were times…extremely rare times when he liked her well enough, but that was a far cry from wanting to marry her.

He couldn't!

He simply could not, would not and refused to even entertain the idea of being stuck with her for the rest of his life.

He'd rather be alone or take his chances with Chloe. At least with her he'd have someone who cared enough to give him a willing ear when he needed it and offer caring advice in exchange. So she didn't turn him on; big deal. He could live with that. He'd rather live in a passionless marriage for all eternity, than one in which Lois was the other half of the equation. He could just imagine what life with her would be like.

Her, talking his ear off about junk he couldn't care less about.

Her, sighing uninterested when he tried to explain how alone he felt being the last of his race.

Her, grudgingly giving him one minute of her time whenever he needed a shoulder to lean on after a bad day and instead of trying to boost his morale, shooting it down by subjecting him to her version of 'tough love', which was really nothing more than her yelling, 'get over it already'.

Her, snorting in disgust if he dared to suggest that having powers wasn't all it was cracked up to be and her, steamrolling over any objections he made that was contrary to what she wanted.

Oh yeah, she'd be the perfect woman to have at his side.

If he was CRAZY!

She couldn't understand him, she wouldn't even try and he wasn't interested in understanding her. Unfortunately, he could only say that was how he felt now; today but one day he would want Lois just as his brothers did.

More than anything he wanted to believe that he wouldn't but despite what he'd said to both Clark and Smallville, he knew they weren't lying about who they were. They used to be him; he was going to grow up to be them. There was a connection between them that couldn't be explained or reasoned away, it could be only be felt and he hated that. Seeing them was like seeing himself, betray Lana for Lois.

And it grated; it really, really grated to admit that.

Before their arrival he'd never been afraid of his heart because he'd never expected it to turn against him. He'd given it to Lana when he was seven and whether she wanted it or not, wanted him or not, had made no difference to his intent. His love for her hadn't ceased with the years, nor had it waned. It had grown steadily stronger and no amount of scare tactic discussions with Clark or Smallville had changed that but their love for Lois shook the foundations of his belief, where nothing had before.

He'd always known his own mind, always known his own heart. Yet now knew that sometime in the next 8 years, he was going to hurt Lana by spurning her for Lois and hated the very thought of it.

He resented his brothers for coming and showing him that. He resented the way they just strolled in assumed they could control his life. He resented their attitude regarding his feelings for Lana. He resented their feelings for Lois but mostly, he just resented her.

He didn't care that it wasn't fair; he didn't feel like being reasonable. He just loathed the idea that one day she was going to turn his head. That had never happened to him before. He'd occasionally been interested in other girls but only because he'd been so desperate to form a connection with someone, since the one he was trying to form with Lana kept falling apart.

This was different and the only comfort he could find was that unlike Clark and Smallville, Lois hadn't turned his head yet. Right now it was still on straight, so now was the time to take action to ensure it stayed that way.

Regrettably it was a sad fact of life that people fell out of love all the time but some very lucky ones; fell into it again. They rediscovered their love for each other and his brothers couldn't give him a guarantee it wouldn't happen to them, since even their future was uncertain. But he was already ahead of the game. Right here there were two people from the future and if he could discover what had caused their feelings for Lana to change, then he could take steps to prevent it from happening before he grew up to be them.

Clark had already given him several clues; all he had to do was dig for more.

They were the one's obsessed with the future, HIS future. Frankly he wasn't concerned about something he'd never seen or experienced, it was the present that concerned him and in the present, Lana was his priority. However, if he was to pretend to be having doubts about his feelings for her, his brothers would likely be eager to answer any questions he had about their respective relationships with her, with the goal of setting him straight of course and in return, he'd bite his tongue and take note of all they said.

He wasn't comfortable with deception but they were him, so it didn't really count and besides, this was too important to leave to chance. The only future he was interested in, was one that he shared with Lana and the first step to ensure they had one together, was to simply tell her the truth; all of it!

He already knew from experience that finding out he was an alien and had been indirectly responsible for her parent's death's, hadn't turned her against him. She'd loved him without knowing his secrets and she'd loved him after he'd divulged them to her on that awful day. He was the one who'd thrown it all back in her face, by not even having the decency to tell her why he broke it off. She more than anyone deserved to know the truth. Honesty was the only thing she'd ever asked of him and he was going to give it to her before it was too late.

And something the twins had revealed earlier told him it wasn't.

Staring hard at the wall, Jerome dug back to the conversation at the breakfast table that morning to determine who said what.

His mom asked what caused them to be split and after a slight hesitation, Clark admitted it was his marriage to Lana.

Smallville revealed they were from 2015 and Clark revealed that he'd been married for 8 years. It was now 2007, which meant he'd gotten married this year. Smallville then followed up by saying this is where everything originated from, meaning Lois being in the hospital.

If they hadn't come, she'd still be there; they were the ones who'd woken her up. So big brother must have stopped Lana from marrying Lex, by marrying her himself and they must have eloped, because they certainly didn't have time to plan anything.

Eloped; that was pretty damn cool of him but what made it particularly significant was the knowledge that Lana still loved him. She wouldn't have married Clark if she didn't and he was Clark after all.

Well if he was going to learn from past mistakes, then he had to get it right from the very beginning.

Firstly, there was going to be no elopement and no hole in the corner rushed affair either. They had nothing to be ashamed of and no one to hide from; so they were going to be married in style.

Secondly and although it chafed him to admit Clark was right, maybe he hadn't spent enough time getting to know Lana before now but that was something he could remedy. While she spent her time planning their wedding, he'd spend his discovering every tiny little thing about her and that would certainly ensure he wouldn't find himself married to a stranger.

Thirdly, well he already accepted both the good and bad in Lana, so his brothers were just talking out of their ass on that one. If he'd never cared about her as a person, then he couldn't have loved her, yet he did. Stupid, that one was just so stupid. He had nothing to learn there; moving on.

Fourthly, he was going to count his blessings every single day that Lana was his wife and in turn, see to it that she never had cause to doubt his love for her. That would take care of having his head turned by Lois and lastly; which was really the most delicious irony of all, he was going to suggest that she be one of Lana's bridesmaids and make a point of dancing with her at the reception.

Well that was his plan but to achieve it, he was going to need to talk to Lana. He needed to tell her everything and he needed plenty of time to do it in, because she'd have questions and although he had the answers, he also had two big brothers who he was sure would find a way to keep him from having much time alone with her.

Then again, if he was going to learn anything from them then he had to stop with the goading and rising to the bait every time they said something he didn't like. He couldn't show an about face too abruptly or they'd be suspicious but he could offer a peace treaty, which he believed they'd be inclined to accept; they were him after all. That might be enough for them to relax their guard and give him some space and…hang on; they were him.

They...Were...Him!

Those words meant something.

There was a deeper meaning hidden in there. He'd thought those words and suddenly felt a flicker that told him they were significant, but why?

As his mind began to race, Jerome pushed up from his seat to pace around the loft trying to think coherently, while thought's tumbled madly through his brain.

Smallville was the original and Clark had been a part of him.

But they were split when Clark got married and at that point their lives diverged.

They were him, they'd said that and he knew they were telling the truth.

Which meant that he was going to grow up to be Smallville and when he and Clark were merged back together, they would once again be one man, him.

HIM!

They were from the future but he was the original. This was his time, not theirs. He wouldn't become the men they were. It was his choices, his decisions, his life experiences that would determine the men they became because they were him; **HIM**!

It was his hand on the wheel and only his.

He was the one in charge.

Falling down onto the seat, Jerome laughed as relief poured through him.

He felt free; like he could do anything.

Maybe he could.

Maybe it was time for him to soar to the clouds because that's how Lana made him feel.

Grinning, he got to his feet and striding back towards the stairs, turned and ran full tilt towards the loft window, then flung himself out of it with arms outstretched.

Picking himself up of the ground a few seconds later, he brushed at his clothes while trying to ignore the heat of embarrassment in his face and felt grateful that no one was around to see him.

One day he'd be able to fly but for now he'd better practice what he was going to say to make peace with the twins, since he needed their cooperation just to talk to Lana alone. Without that, he wouldn't be in charge because they'd leave and he'd forget and then he'd be back to where he was this morning; with no Lana and no happiness in sight. So there was nothing for it; he was going to have to play nice and act like an angel and doing that was going to take a lot of practice.

oOo

Standing on the front porch gazing absently at the yard, Clark fought against the urge to find Jerome and kick his butt.

He hated saying no to his mom and seeing the disappointment in her eyes at his refusal but he just couldn't give her what she wanted. As far as he was concerned, everyone's unceasing forbearance with his adoration for Lana years ago had caused just as much damage, as his own stubbornness in clinging to her like a security blanket. And although he was well aware that he wouldn't have listened to any opposition, should anyone have gotten up the guts to offer it, with maturity and hindsight, he also knew that everyone catering to all his drivel had simply enforced the belief that those who knew him best, agreed with his sentiments.

Well the softly spoken approach had done bugger all to help him and he wasn't going to be a party to it, just to spare poor little Jerome's feelings. Too many people had been doing that for too damn long already. To his mind, it was high time that Jerome grew up and past time that he realised the world did not revolve around him and Lana. He'd had to learn THAT the hard way and he didn't want to have to re-learn it all over again.

It was his life on the line here, not his mom's or Chloe's or anyone else's; HIS and if the only way he could get the message across was by giving Jerome the shaking of his life, then he was up for it.

At the slam of the screen door, he turned to find his twin stepping out on the porch "How you doing?"

"Not so good, I don't like upsetting mom but…" Holding up a hand at the question he could see forming, he smiled unamused "You don't have to worry; Jerome's not snivelling at Lana's knee somewhere. He's at the fortress, I checked."

Nodding, he came forward and leant on the rail so that he could keep an eye out in the opposite direction to Clark, while talking to him.

Feeling both an apology and an explanation was warranted, Clark got right to the point "I'm sorry Smallville. I pushed Jerome too hard, said too much and I honestly didn't intend to, not so soon. Nor was it my intention to hurt or antagonise him but I'm tired. I just want this over with, I want my life back and listening to him makes me feel angry and annoyed and so damn depressed." Sighing heavily, he scrubbed one hand over his face "If he has his way, one day soon he's going to be me. We're all going to be me. We're all going to re-live the life that I already have and although we're not going to remember this time, I have a feeling we're going to know that we were given yet another chance and turned our backs on it."

Swallowing hard, he turned his eyes back to the yard "I should have brought my journals and given them to him. I could have said; here they've already been written, just hang onto them for me because I'll need them again in a few years and it will save me having to write them again." Closing his eyes, he shook his head "I already know how we're going to feel. I already know what's coming but I don't know if I can't stand living all that again."

Recoiling at the idea of enduring such a bleak existence, Smallville held back a shudder and firmed his voice "That's not going to happen Clark." When his twin turned to him, he hoped his face showed more reassurance than he felt "You're not the only one who bulldozed straight ahead; I did too and for the same reason. The fact is we knew Jerome was going to be resistant to anything we said, we just didn't take into account how angry his pigheadedness was going to make us. But we've only lost some ground and I believe that we can still make it back up; we just need a change in strategy."

"No approach is going to work" Looking his twin in the eye, Clark reminded him flatly "You told me that when mom asked you if either of us had had dreams of our future with Lois, would we still have married Lana and you said yes. I didn't want to agree but I did because I knew that you were right. Jerome is us Smallville, so we're not going to win this."

"The odds are stacked against us but that doesn't mean we're going to lose" He countered unflinchingly but felt his stomach pitch at being reminded of what he'd said "Listen Clark, you're in a unique position here because you're the only one who really understands that getting the life Jerome claims to want, will destroy him. The only knowledge I have comes from reading your journals, so I don't really know what it's like to live with her day in and day out when there's not even affection to hold you together or make it easier and he won't be interested in anything I have to say about it. But what I can do that you can't, is tell him about my life. I can tell him how training with Jor-el helped me to use my powers effectively. I can tell him how rewarding it feels to work with the JLA, plus have a life apart from that working at the Planet, my friends there and finding my niche in life." Grinning, he added with a touch of humour "I'd better not push the Lois issue though because I have a feeling that won't go over too well…." Appreciating Clark's snicker, he grimaced slightly "He's not ready to hear about Lo anyway but practically speaking, all we really need to do is to expand his vision enough, so he can see that a life without Lana holds far richer rewards than he can imagine. We've each got our own experiences and strengths that we can offer him insight on and we can answer any questions he may have, that won't compromise the future."

"He's not going to be interested" Clark advised regretfully.

"We have to try."

"I did try and he didn't hear a word I said."

"I know but…" Leaning against the post, Smallville scratched his cheek thoughtfully "Look, we both pushed him too hard, too soon but that doesn't negate the fact that you still made a lot of very valid points; the best one being when you told him that he can fool everyone but he can't fool us. So we both know that although he dismissed everything we said out of hand, he won't be able to help thinking about it. It'll stew in the back of his mind, turning over and over and pop up when he least expects it; especially now that we've given him a lot of food for thought about Lana. She just has to step out of line once and he'll find it damned hard to close his eyes to the truth." At the accompanying nod, he clasped his twins shoulder "And don't worry about what I told mom. Just put that it out of your head and concentrate on this."

"Ok, when the time is right I'll try again BUT…" Clark emphasised strongly "If he uses that scornful note in his voice when talking about Lois again, then I reserve the right to punch him in the mouth."

Rubbing the side of his jaw, he thought about it before offering a compromise "You'll have to beat me to the first punch but and although it's going to kill us, we have to be fair. We can't expect him not to use that tone when talking about Lois, then turn around and sneer at his feelings for Lana."

"Am I going to get any fun out of this?"

At the whining note in his twins, voice, his smile kicked up "Nope there's no fun to be had but when we're merged back together and at home with Lo, we can mock ourselves to our hearts content."

Lips twitching, Clark nodded somewhat unwillingly "Well I guess that I'll have to be content with that but if he starts, I don't know how long I can take the high road for."

Taking a swift look around to ensure no one was in the vicinity; Smallville lowered his voice "Try real hard Clark. I know how difficult it's going to be but the last thing we need is to get Jerome's back up because then he'll just go off and do something stupid. We have to keep in mind that he's the one in charge here, not us. I sincerely hope he never figures that out because we already know what choice he'd make and if he fucks it up, all three of us are going to be paying that bill you mentioned."

"I know" Clark murmured uncomfortable "Our fate is in the hands of a little twerp who can't see past the end of his nose."

"That little twerp was us, which makes me nervous as hell" He stated grimly.

"I wish that we could just take Lois and leave but with my wife on the loose, we're stuck here" Clark muttered annoyed.

"We can leave and no one will remember us being here but we can't take Lois with us or Chloe will kick up a stink about her cousin disappearing from the hospital and I refuse to leave her behind" He replied straight out and smiled at the fierce "me too" from his twin "Besides, without us around to frustrate their efforts, your wife will have a clear field to the little twerp and he'll have one to young Lana and then goodness only knows what'll happen to our life next time. So going back isn't the answer, staying to see this through is."

"Yeah…" Exhaling noisily in aggravation, Clark lifted his eyes heavenward "Ok, I promise not to give into the desire to give Jerome the throttling of his life and I'll even pretend to be sympathetic and sensitive to his feelings for Lana but just so you know; I don't feel even a twinge of remorse about deceiving him to save my own skin."

"Funny you should say that because neither do I" He murmured in return.

"He's us, so he's bound to be plotting and planning just as we are" Clark said meditatively.

"Of course" He agreed blandly.

Clark's brow quirked "I take it you're not worried."

"I'll worry, if or when I ever start to trust him" Smallville said so drolly that his twin laughed in appreciation.


	8. Chapter 8

Hi everyone

One of the things that really got on my wick in Smallville, was the way the characters acted as if they had ESP and just knew that one day in the far off future, Lex was going to be evil, so treated him like he was before he even did anything wrong. Yet these same characters then turned around and blatantly ignored all the crap Clark, Lana and Chloe pulled (mostly the 2 girls) and acted like they were perfect angels.

Admittedly, I don't have a good opinion of the sloppy sloppy-telling that was done in Smallville as a whole, but this really, really bugged me.

With that, I'm sure you know by now that Lex and Lana get talked about in this chapter and I'm using Lois as my voice because to me, she was one of the three most self-aware characters in the show and one of the most consistent (with the exception of S10 but I won't go there).

Linda

oOo

Hearing footsteps coming towards the barn, Jerome looked over his shoulder to see who was approaching and relaxed at seeing his mother.

Figuring that she'd come to look for him because he'd been gone for a while and knowing that he couldn't put off facing his brothers indefinitely, he tucked the papers he was reading into his shirt pocket and zipped down the stairs.

"Were you looking for me mom?"

Noting that he looked a lot better than he had upon storming out of the house two hours previously, she asked optimistically "Are you ok sweetie?"

"Yeah, I've had time to cool down and although I'd like nothing more than to blame Clark and Smallville's for the blow up earlier, I know that I was just as hostile towards them as they were towards me, so I can't claim that I was the only injured party" He replied truthfully.

"They said much the same thing, when they came back to the house after cooling down" She told him. Taking heart that all three of them could see they were responsible for the fight, Martha said gently but firmly "Now I'm going to tell you, what I told them. All the taunting and goading has to stop. If the three of you keep on like that, nothing will ever be resolved and just as importantly, I don't think the girls and I deserve to live in a war zone, just because you boys can't live together peacefully for a few days."

Feeling like he'd just been told off for acting like a child, Jerome mumbled apologetically "Sorry mom, um…if it means anything, I'm willing to call a truce if they are."

"It means a lot and yes they are" Giving him a tight hug, she leant back and smiled hugely at him "I'm glad that despite my son's stubbornness, he's a good boy who's willing to give someone another chance, even when that someone is himself."

While it was true that he was willing to share in the blame for their row earlier, it was also true that he was only willing to make up with them, to further his own ends but his mom didn't know that and he couldn't tell her, which made him feel like a fraud. Reminding himself that it was all for a good cause, Jerome pushed aside the guilt he felt at deceiving his mother and smiled back weakly in return.

"C'mon, let's go so my boys can make up" Clasping his arm, Martha returned with him to the house to find that Lois was awake and being fussed over.

Holding back a wince at the sight of Lois laughing in delight at all of Smallville's fussing, Jerome silently pleaded for any higher power who was listening, to give him strength to get through this.

"Here baby, let me just put a cushion behind your head" Tucking it in carefully, Smallville leant back pursing his lips thoughtfully "Do you want one for your back as well?"

"I didn't need one for my head" Lois groaned but sat forward obligingly at his pout and began to mouth pleas for help to the bystanders, when her fiancée next insisted on lifting her legs up on the coffee table.

Holding himself back from likewise rushing forward to fuss, Clark held out the glass of orange juice he'd poured her "Here Lois, vitamin C is good for all sorts of things."

Obligingly taking a sip, she smiled "Mmm, that's just what I needed; thanks."

Refusing to acknowledge how watching them made her feel, Chloe smiled tightly at the spectacle while wishing she was elsewhere, only becoming aware they were no longer alone, upon the pointedly overly loud closing of the back door.

Turning to see their mother was back and she wasn't alone, the men stepped forward as did Jerome to meet in the middle.

"I'm sorry for what I said earlier" Clark said apologetically and silently wondered if the smile cast back at him, was just as phony as his own. Holding out a hand, he inclined his head in thanks when Jerome shook it "Things got heated there for a little while but I went too far; sorry."

"Thanks."

Likewise holding out his hand, Smallville said penitently "I know that we have very different points of view but taking a swipe at Lana just to score of you was out of line, as was purposely saying things just to irritate you; sorry."

Not trusting either of them anymore than he was sure they trusted him, but determined not to be the one to start anything, Jerome stretched his lips wider and replied peaceably "We were all at fault. I did my share of prodding and insulting as well, so I apologise to both of you."

"How about we let bygones be bygones and start over again" Clark nudged hopefully.

"I'd like that" Smallville put in expectantly.

Not to be outdone, Jerome returned just as heartily "So would I."

Watching her boys make up, Martha beamed in approval and pride, while Chloe let out a relieved prayer of thanks that Clark Kent wasn't the kind to hold grudges for long. Lois on the other hand, repressed a snort of disbelief. She didn't know what the men were up to but she knew very well they weren't sorry, and didn't believe for one second that Jerome was either.

Unfortunately she hadn't been up for long, so didn't know what their fight was about but she didn't need all the specifics to make an educated guess. Making a mental note to get all the details out of her fiancée ASAP, she headed to the dining table with the others when Martha announced happily "Now that everyone's made up, let's have lunch."

oOo

_Three Hours Later_

Unable to take another minute of the falsely sweet atmosphere and also bursting with curiosity, Lois grasped her fiancée by the hand and tugged "Hon, I just remembered that I forgot to get something from my apartment earlier. Want to go for a drive?"

Thinking that she really just wanted to get him alone for carnal purposes and more than happy to oblige, he got to his feet eagerly "Love to."

Not liking the idea of them being alone and getting up to goodness only knows what, even more than he didn't like seeing them together, Jerome tossed in quickly "No one's supposed to see you."

"No problem…" Dashing upstairs and returning seconds later, Smallville asked the audience "What'd you think?"

Mouths fell open.

"You look like me" Jerome murmured uncomfortably.

"I am you, just older" He replied amused.

"Yeah but before you looked older, now though…" Moving around him, Chloe prodded his arm cautiously before turning to look at the younger version "He could easily pass for you."

Feeling awkward at the notion, Jerome smiled tightly "How'd you do it?"

"I learnt how to hide in plain sight when I became Superman" Smallville replied honestly "All it took was a little hair ruffling, removing my glasses and wearing my shirt tails outside, to hide the fact that my jeans are formfitting, instead of slouchy." Not waiting for any further questions, He held out one hand to Lois "Let's go babe."

"Can I borrow your car Chlo?" Taking the keys from the outstretched hand with a smile of thanks, Lois swept out the door with her fiancée, who lifted a hand in acknowledgement to be careful just in case.

Settling behind the wheel a minute later, she looked at her Smallville and said outright "Ok, I want to know all the details of your argument with Jerome. I want to know what was said, who said it and to whom. I also want to know what game you and Clark are playing now and what do you think Jerome's up to, so start talking."

Unsurprised by both the questions shot in his direction and her astuteness that something was indeed going on, he buckled up and while she drove, he did as told.

Lois frowned, made tsking sounds, cackled with laughter and rolled her eyes once or twice but otherwise let him speak without interruption. Spying a free parking space outside the Talon, she zipped in and switching off the ignition, waited for him to finish.

Tapping her chin, she asked meditatively "So Jerome thinks Lana should be told that you and Clark are here."

"He does."

"Hmm…" Giving a cat like smile, she proposed softly "Well I think that you should do as he says and while you're at it, let her know that I'm from the future too."

Knowing that she wouldn't be suggesting that without a reason, he raised one brow curiously "Can I ask why babe?"

"Well it would be a show good faith on your part, if Jerome sees that you trust his judgement in this matter" She answered sleekly.

"Uh huh, what's the real reason?"

"To see if Lana's going to be just as honest and confess all, when Clark's wife shows up of course" Lois replied blandly.

"Do you really think she will?" He asked doubtfully.

"Not a hope in hell" She scoffed and climbed out of the car.

Grinning, he climbed out his side "Your devious mind is just one of the many things that I love about you."

"Excuse me but my mind is pure" She returned piously "I am simply encouraging you, me and Clark to out ourselves to Lana, to show her up as the devious little witch that she is."

Laughing, he walked around the hood and murmured quietly "If we weren't in public, I'd kiss you like there was no tomorrow."

"There's going to be no kissing."

"What…" Dumbfounded he watched her walk towards the back of the building and raced to catch up "What'd you mean no kissing."

"Honey, I'm in my younger self's body" She reminded him helpfully.

"But it's still YOUR body" He insisted flatly.

Arguing the point back and forth until they were inside the apartment, Lois' lips twitched when he flopped face down on the sofa with a pitiful groan.

"How about a compromise…" At her words, he lifted his face from the cushion it was pressed into and looked at her suspiciously "If it's the kind of compromise where all I get to do is peep at you in the shower, then no thanks."

"You are not peeping at me in the shower" She yelped outraged and crossing her arms, told him militantly "This body is not for your eyes until its a few years older.

Forgetting that a bare two seconds earlier he'd spurned the idea, Smallville jumped up offended "That's not fair, you can peep at me."

"That's because you're in your own body but I wouldn't peep at either Clark or Jerome" She returned patiently "Do you see the difference?"

Refusing to reply, he mirrored her stance by crossing his arms and declaring huffily "If I can't peep at you then you can't peep at me."

"Fine…" Rolling her eyes, she cut in on his grumbling to ask pointedly "Do you want to hear my compromise or not?" Taking his sulky one shoulder shrug as a reply, she offered generously "I'll allow kissing."

"What kind of kissing?" He asked distrustfully.

"The kind that doesn't lead to groping" She answered without pause.

Before she could blink, Lois found herself tossed onto the bed with her fiancée's mouth locked onto hers.

Laughing, she wrenched her lips away "I said no groping."

Floating up just enough to keep his arms outstretched, Smallville grinned hugely "Look ma, no hands" and bent his head to reclaim her lips with his own but instead cocked his head to the side. Falling onto the bed at her side, he listened for a moment more "There was a landslide in Venezuela. The radio announcement is pretty sketchy on details so I'm not sure if there are human lives in danger or just property but it sounds pretty bad."

"Honey, you're not Superman here."

"I know babe but I can't simply close my ears to people needing help" Grimacing, he rubbed the back of his neck while debating for a moment "I'm just going down there to see how things are looking. If the emergency crews need help, then I'll do it unobtrusively." Giving her a tiny smile, he asked hopefully "Tell me I'm doing the right thing."

"You're doing the right thing" She told him truthfully "That whole, don't step on an insect or you could change the fate of the world is ok in theory but I couldn't sit on my hands and let people die either."

Pressing a kiss against her forehead in thanks, Smallville got up to leave then swung back when she called out "But be as inconspicuous as possible ok."

"Promise and I'll be back as soon as I can."

Pursing her lips when he was gone, Lois shrugged fatalistically "Oh well, if he gives himself away at least no one will remember it…" Pausing, she shook her head "What am I talking about; anyone he saves today could have been a potential victim in the original timeline and will be again when everything is reversed." Rubbing her forehead, she got up and headed into the lounge room "This time travel crap just gives me a headache."

Deciding to walk it off, she grabbed the keys and her purse and let herself out of the apartment.

oOo

Acknowledging passers-by with a wave, a smile or just a friendly nod while trying not to give into the desire to have a cigarette, Lois stopped beside the park and seeing it was empty of kiddies due to the cold weather, made herself comfortable on one of the benches, unaware that she was being observed.

Having stopped at the Talon to grab a coffee before going on home to continue working, Lex Luthor had been surprised to step out of the shop to see Lois walking around aimlessly by herself. She didn't appear to have any particular destination in mind before sitting down, which didn't seem in tune with her character; the girl always seemed to know exactly what she was doing and where she was heading. Sipping his coffee absently, he watched her while she watched others going about their business and wondered why she wasn't being pampered by her friends and family, given that she'd only just gotten out of hospital that morning and why, after turning up at his house yesterday and making a production of accusing him of causing her condition, Clark Kent now showed so little concern for her welfare, that he left her to her to straggle around by herself on such a cold day.

Cleary, Clark had only cared enough to pretend that he was concerned about Lois' condition, as a way to impress Lana with how much he cared about his friends; big fucking surprise. That was Clark Kent all over. He'd use anyone, anything and any situation to make himself look good in Lana's eyes; yet acted as if he was above that sort of behaviour.

Well Lex didn't consider himself Lois' friend and he didn't want to be BUT, Lana was important to him and since she cared about Lois, he'd make the effort even though he didn't expect the experience to be pleasant.

Walking across the road, he came to a stop at her side "Lois, it's nice to see you up and around."

"I'll bet" Her lips lifted mockingly "I'm sure that you were real worried about me."

"Well let's just say that I was as worried about you, as you'd be about me in the same situation" He replied smoothly.

Reluctantly smiling at that, she inclined her head at the hit "Touché."

His lips curved lightly in response "So what was wrong?"

"The doctors don't know; which isn't very reassuring but what are you going do?" She asked rhetorically before retrieving a cigarette from her purse.

Lex's brows rose in surprise "I didn't know that you smoked."

"I quit a couple of years ago but…"

"But…" His mouth curled up in one corner "I'm very familiar with that expression."

The dryness of his tone made her laugh "Yeah, I swore that I wouldn't start up again but I fell of the wagon."

"I've been there." Withdrawing a slim silver case from his inner pocket, he retrieved a cigarette but paused in the lighting of it when she remarked surprised "I thought you only smoked cigars."

Recalling too late that in this time she hadn't studied Lex well enough to know that he smoked at all, much less what he preferred and seeing his eyes sharpen, tacked on breezily "Lana mentioned that you liked having one every now and again."

Satisfied, he nodded "I do prefer cigars but these will do in a pinch." Pointing to the seat, he asked "Do you mind if I join you?"

"It's a free country…" Sweeping out one hand, she added smartly "But are you sure that your credit is good enough, for you to be seen in public with a muffin peddling college drop out?"

His lips twitched in recollection of their verbal encounter when he'd walked away the victor but taking a seat beside her, he replied solemnly "Considering that I'm now engaged to the girl whose idea it was for the muffin shop to be open in the first place and she's also a college drop-out, I'd better keep my opinions to myself."

"Actually, you stung me pretty good" She confessed handsomely.

"Yes I did and you have to admit, the provocation you provided was too great to be ignored" He said frankly.

"Well I'm sure you know that I hate to agree with you about anything, but yes I have to admit that only a saint wouldn't have retaliated and since I'm not one myself, I would have done so in your shoes as well." Letting out a small laugh when he grinned hugely at her grudging admission, she added "You actually did me a good turn by saying it, not that I thought so at the time mind you but your scornful dig made me want to better myself, if only to make you eat your words."

"Well I in turn won't pretend that my motives were altruistic when I gave you that slap down, but if what I said did fire you up to strive for your future, then I think you should thank me." Smiling lightly at the rude noise she made, he asked seriously "So what do you envision yourself as; a politicians PA, a journalist or something else that you haven't tried yet?"

Since she couldn't tell him that she was a journalist in the future, Lois remarked thoughtfully "I don't think that I really have what it takes to be a politicians PA, temperamentally speaking that is."

"Please note that I was polite enough not to point that out" He remarked sedately.

Diverted, she slated a look at him and seeing the humour on his face, let out a bark of laughter "Yeah I really don't have the patience or the personality for the kind of bullshit that goes on in the political arena but I do like working at the Inquisitor and I think that I have what it takes to be a journalist, so I might stick with that and see how I go."

"In a competitive field like journalism, you need every advantage that you can get and the lack of a college education, will hurt you someday. A degree would afford you more opportunities, especially if you want to move up the ranks or work at a bigger more prestigious paper" He warned directly "You don't have to take my word for it, but as someone who knows precisely what he expects from any potential employees wishing to work in the upper echelons of LuthorCorp, I can tell you that I won't even waste my time looking at applications, from those who don't have the right credentials."

"What about life experience" She asked curiously.

"It counts for a lot but who do you think a boss will hire, if he has the choice between an applicant with a degree and one without, especially when the economy is tough and jobs are scarce?" He said turning the question back onto her.

Recalling that was essentially the same lecture she'd given herself whenever she'd wanted to throw in the towel while studying for her degree when travelling, Lois nodded in response to his words and said truthfully "Unfortunately I can't afford to study full time, but I will start looking into what courses I can do part time or by correspondence to get accredited; thanks for the advice" Cocking up one brow, she asked inquisitively "Did you know what you wanted to be when you left high school?"

"Rich" He replied without hesitation.

"You were born rich" she reminded him dryly.

"No, I was born into a rich family; there is a difference" He said without reserve "I enjoyed the rewards that came from being a Luthor and I also made the most of every opportunity that was given to me because of my family's wealth, but I didn't get to choose my profession. I was groomed to be the head of LuthorCorp from the time I was in my cradle. However, since I wasn't interested in becoming a trust fund baby who sails around the Aegean in a yacht with a few playboy bunnies to keep me company, my father's plans for my life suited me, but my plan was to become rich in my own right because only with money can you really have influence, power. I intend to become a force to be reckoned with in all areas of big business, thus proving that Lex Luthor can do it on his own without his father's influence, or family name to back him up."

"And you have."

"Not quite but I am well on my way and one day I will be." Smiling faintly, Lex said confidently "You know the saying; watch this space."

Knowing that in a few short years LuthorCorp would become LexCorp, and the man sitting beside her would not only far exceed his goal but be even more ruthless than his father, Lois shivered slightly.

Unaware of her thoughts, he murmured pensively "I certainly haven't forgotten how satisfying it felt to make my first million."

"Make my first million" She mused out loud "I can't imagine ever saying that, so I'll settle for being satisfied when I make my first hundred thousand."

"That's where we differ, I'd never settle for anything less than what I want" He told her bluntly.

"I won't compromise for something that really matters but since I don't need millions to live, the accumulation of wealth isn't a driving force in my life" She replied just as candidly "As long as I can keep a roof over my head and put food in my belly, with a healthy nest egg put aside for a rainy day, I'll be happy."

"I think it's safe to say that your notion of what constitutes a nest egg and mine, are vastly different. Not to mention our goals in life and what we're willing to sacrifice to attain them" He countered straight out.

"Have you sacrificed much?"

Thinking back over all he'd given up and the carefully devised stratagems he'd employed to reach his heart's desire, Lex simply said "Yes."

"It doesn't sound like it bothers you" She nudged tentatively.

Hearing the disquiet in her voice, he smiled mockingly "When I want something badly enough I'll sacrifice whatever I have to, and I don't count the cost."

"But how do you know that you won't regret that cost someday?"

"Someday, is a word used by people who believe in fairy tales" He dismissed out of hand "The passion and the hunger that I have is very real. So whatever loses I sustain are immaterial, compared to what I'll gain in comparison."

"You really believe that?"

"Yes."

Hearing the uncompromising certainty in his voice, she said truthfully "I don't know whether to feel sorry for you or not."

Amused, his lips curled "I'm not asking for your understanding or your sympathy, so why should you feel sorry for me?"

"Maybe because you're not asking for it, as so many people do" She replied honestly and not giving him time to respond with the mocking taunt she could see on his lips, said "I have a feeling that even if you'd come into the world with nothing but your resolution to be on top, that you would have found a way to do it Lex, irrespective of any and all obstacles that stood in your way."

His smile flashed out sharply "Yes, I would."

Returning to see his fiancée talking to Lex Luthor, Smallville hesitated wondering if he should join them or not. No one was supposed to see him but…chewing his lip, he listened to their conversation for a few seconds before jogging across the road, coming to a stop beside the bench they were sitting on "Lois, are you ok?"

Brow wrinkling, Lex quizzed sardonically "What does he imagine I'm going to do to you, right here in the centre of town and in broad daylight?"

Lips twitching, Lois shot a look over her shoulder and seeing the smile her fiancée was wearing in response to the man's dig, answered hastily "I don't think he was having a go at you Lex."

"If you're serious about becoming a journalist Lois, you're going to have to lose that naiveté which to be honest, I never really thought you had" He countered promptly.

"I was trying to use the diplomacy that I've learnt since working with Mrs Kent" At his grunt, she grinned and got to her feet when he did.

"Well I was enjoying our chat, but his arrival is my cue to go."

"You don't have to leave" She responded with automatic politeness.

"Yes I do…" Flicking his eyes to the man who was now standing at his side, Lex said forthright "Now that a certain someone has joined us, it's only a matter of time before he stars sobbing about the wretchedness of his life and blaming me for it, so I'm out of here."

"I'm sure that he won't."

"And I'm just sure that he will." He replied dryly. Not trusting Clark's lack of response, he added purposely in an effort to make the boy talk "Lois I have no ambition to be a hero, but you've just come out of one coma and don't need to be put into another one listening to the drivel he's bound to subject you to when I leave. So I'm happy to give you lift somewhere, if only to save you from being stuck here listening to his rot."

Falling into whoops, she laughed and laughed before finally managing to contain herself, but almost went off again upon catching the look on both men's faces. Swiping one hand over her cheeks, she swallowed the next round of giggles crowding her throat and said unsteadily "It's not necessary, but thanks anyway."

"It's your funeral" He said simply and seeing her lips twitch, just shook his head "I'm not going to lie and say that I was concerned about you but for Lana's sake, I'm glad that you're alright."

"Gee thanks" She murmured sarcastically.

"Want me to tell you that I cried myself to sleep last night, worried sick about your condition?" He asked with a grin.

"Please don't." She bit her lip before asking straight out "Can I ask why you joined me?"

"Because you're a friend of my fiancée" He replied without dissembling "I saw you walking along the street by yourself and since you just got out of the hospital this morning, I couldn't simply turn my back and walk away. If anything happened to you, Lana would have been upset and since I try to make her happy, I decided to brave your displeasure at my company…" When she chuckled, he grinned in return "I wasn't expecting to enjoy talking to you but surprisingly, I did."

Smiling crookedly, she nodded in understanding "I did too."

"Well now that you're no longer alone, I'll be on my way…" Wondering why Clark Kent who usually had plenty to say, was not saying anything despite the insults he'd flung at him and more especially, at the mention of Lana, Lex mentally filed away his unusual behaviour and inclined his head "Lois."

"See you Lex" She murmured, watching him stroll back to his car.

Firing up the engine, Lex watched the two of them in his rear view mirror until they were only specks, before giving his full attention to the road.

He didn't know if Lois' miraculous awakening from catatonia and Clark's uncharacteristic silence, had anything to do with the phone call he'd received from Lana earlier but couldn't discount the coincidence. He didn't see how the three things could be related but he didn't trust coincidence, nor Clark Kent's sudden muteness. The boy was touchy and overemotional on his best day and when it came to Lana Lang, he was even more so. So his lack of response and stoic demeanour didn't jibe with the person that he was.

On the other hand, Lana's pre-wedding jitters were normal and not altogether unexpected. When she'd called, he'd simply been concerned and although he could have told her that getting married wasn't anything to be frightened off, he'd refrained knowing that she needed to figure out that for herself and him pushing the issue wouldn't help. All that would accomplish, would be to remind her that he'd twice said "I do" to others. So he'd backed off and while he wasn't dancing with joy that she needed time away from him to get through this sudden crisis of cold feet now that their wedding date was looming large on the horizon, past experience had taught him that it was best to give an antsy fiancée space when she requested it.

Now though, he was suspicious about exactly what crisis she was going through and couldn't help but wonder if it had anything to do with Clark's odd behaviour.

He wasn't comfortable holding his fiancée under suspicion but love hadn't blinded him to her true nature, yet conversely he wanted to trust her.

Throwing up one hand at all the mental back and forth gymnastics he was doing, Lex decided for the present to simply wait and see how things developed.

oOo

Waiting until he'd driven off, Lois said worriedly "Hon, you didn't say a word to Lex and I'm sure he noticed, particularly since I believe he deliberately tried to insult you into it."

"I know but I was trying not to draw his attention my way because Lex is far too astute for my peace of mind. I doubt it would take him long to realise there was something different about Clark Kent, which in turn would just make him gnaw at the issue until he figured out why." Rolling his shoulders, Smallville raked one hand through his hair "Hopefully, he'll simply think that I was ignoring him and give my behaviour no more thought than that." Seeing her brows rise in disbelief, he smiled lopsided "We're only going to be in this time for a few days, so he won't have time to reflect on it anyway."

"Yeah I guess you're right."

Hearing something in her tone but not sure what, he cocked up one brow "What's on your mind?"

"Nothing….oh I don't know, it's just…" Sighing in exasperation, she smiled crookedly "I can't help feeling sorry for him."

"Babe, Lex doesn't need anyone to feel sorry for him" He remarked drolly.

"Has anyone ever hated you just because you're a Kent?" She asked directly.

Staggered at such a no-frills question but taking her point all the same, he replied slowly "No."

"How about a whole town full of people who hated your father and pre-judged you on the basis of his actions; would you like that?" She persisted evenly.

Grimacing, he answered again "No."

"No" She repeated plainly "We don't know what that feels like Clark but Lex does because he gets it everywhere he goes and I'm willing to bet that even at school, he wasn't only picked on because he was bald and kids are cruel but because they heard their parents talking about the bastard Lionel Luthor, and took their animosity out on Lex. Then he comes to Smallville, a little town in Kansas to head up a branch of LuthorCorp, which I highly doubt was his idea of a promotion, only to discover it's no different here than anywhere else and then just to add insult to injury, his father and I use the term loosely, somehow got elevated to sainthood in the eyes of some while Lex ended up being the only Luthor regarded as evil incarnate." Taking a breath, she said explicitly "Well as far as I'm concerned, as both a parent and a human being, Lionel Luthor had a lot to answer for. I'm not sorry he's dead, I'm only sorry the heartless creep didn't die before doing his level best to turn Lex into a clone of himself."

Feeling uncomfortable, he murmured reprovingly "Lo, you shouldn't speak ill of the dead."

"Why not; I spoke ill of him when he was alive, I'm not going to become mealy mouthed just because someone pushed him out of a window" She scowled impatiently.

Looking around the street to ensure there were no passers-by in the vicinity given that she wasn't even trying to lower her voice, he whispered "Sweetheart, you know it's believed that Lex is the one who did the pushing."

"Well given that Lionel is the one who set Lex's feet on the path to becoming a villain in the first place, then I think it's only right that he reaped the rewards of what he sowed" She replied undaunted "I wonder if he had time to appreciate that fact before becoming street pizza."

Wincing at her insensitivity and even more so at the realisation that in this time, Lionel was still very much alive which just made her comment even more gruesome, he murmured "Lois, no matter what Lionel's faults were, he didn't deserve to die like that and you know it."

"I don't know anything of the kind" She retorted hardly "What I do know is that most everyone who passed through Lex's life, starting with his louse of a father, sucked and I wouldn't be in the least surprised if his mother sucked too! You sucked, Lana sucked, Chloe sucked, I sucked and that's only counting the people that I know, how many others were there that I don't." Sighing, her lips twisted in regret "I just wish that I'd taken a cue from your mom and not been biased against Lex before he'd given me reason to be, but I took after your dad who was, and that wasn't fair."

Cringing at her denunciation of his dad's attitude more so than on his own behalf, yet somewhat touched that she hadn't run from criticising herself, he replied simply "We all sucked Lo, most particularly me, Lionel and Lana but the way he turned out, was still Lex's choice."

"Was it? Did he have a choice? Did anyone give him a choice?" She asked swiftly, penitently "We were all so eager to see the bad in him that we kept on dismissing the good, until there was none left and then we said, oh see we were right about him all along. Between his parents, his friends, his peers, his wives and everyone else that pissed all over him, it's no wonder the man finally had enough and thought fuck it all."

"Baby you know what Lex is capable off and you also know that he's hurt a lot of people, including some that you care about." He reminded her softly.

Her shoulders drooped, even as she whispered "Wes."

Touching her hand lightly, he murmured "Yes."

"I'll never forget what happened to him but I had to let go of the rage I felt, or it would have swallowed me up." Her chin wobbled and swallowing back the lump, she told her fiancée "I can't forgive Lex for what he did but I don't hate him anymore and when I was talking to him, I got a glimpse inside his head and it was…I felt sorry for him. He told me his desire is to be force to be reckoned with in all areas of big business but he's not going to be content with that. When he reaches that goal he's going to want more power and more again and more again and I can't help thinking that if only he'd only met someone who'd truly cared enough to try and bring out the best in him, instead of always searching for the worst, maybe that thirst to succeed would have been turned towards helping his fellow man. He could have made such a difference in the world." Mouth turning down, she lifted one shoulder helplessly "I can't help feeling that everyone, including myself failed him in some way."

"Lex isn't a boy scout Lo, he never was."

"He might have been if he had different parents Clark; hell he might have been even if he had friends who stood by him when he fucked up royally. You did, you had both. Don't you think all the steadfast love and support that you were given, helped you to become the man you are today?" At his nod, she asked hypothetically "And then on the opposite side of the spectrum, we have Lana Lang who was never even criticized for her own behaviour, much less anyone else's and look how arrogantly smug she became. How do you think she would have turned out, if she'd been subjected to even a tenth of the contempt that Lex was dished out from all sides?"

At the look of horror on his face, she inclined her head "It makes you think doesn't it?"

"Yes it does."

Hearing the disturbed tone in his voice, she gave his arm a pat "I don't like Lex and I never trusted him but I can't help pitying him. I know what he's going to be like in the future and I believe that he does too; he accepts it. He told me that he doesn't count the cost and I just find that incredibly sad; don't you?"

"Yes." Wanting to hug her but knowing that he couldn't, Smallville said truthfully "But Lo we all make choices Lo in life and it sounds like Lex has already made his. He could have thought, fuck them all I'm going to be good no matter what the lot of them thinks and I agree that if he had done that, he would have been one hell of a powerful force in the JLA but he chose to turn the other way. You can't save someone who doesn't want to be saved."

"From everything you've told me about his early days in Smallville, I believe that he did want to but eventually gave up; I would have."

"I don't believe that."

"If I knew from the outset that I was going to be judged and found guilty no matter what, then yes; I think it's entirely possible that I would have ultimately decided that I might as well commit the crime and get something out of it, since I was going to be condemned out of hand anyway."

"Lois you're talking as if Lex was always innocent, but he wasn't" Smallville reminded her bluntly.

"I know that but he wasn't always guilty either, yet that didn't stop people from assuming that he was and I was one of those people" She said sadly "Even though I'm sure by the time he met me, he'd learnt not to give a damn what anyone who didn't take the time to get to know him thought before pronouncing judgement, so I daresay my opinion didn't matter in the least and good on him for that, I wish that I had given him a fair chance." Pushing the hair back impatiently from her face, she sighed fitfully "I think he had a lot of help, to become the man we know him as in the future and Lionel Luthor was just one of those helpful people. It's the wounds inflicted by those you love best, which can cause the most damage and in Lex's case, I believe that is what finally tipped him over the edge to the dark side." At his grimace, her face contorted "Sorry."

"Not as sorry as I am" He murmured quietly "But babe, dwelling on past mistakes does more harm than good. You have to put them behind you and move on; that's what you've always told me and you're right. I made a lot of wrong calls that I wish could be made right but it's too late. I played with time once and I lost my dad. Lana's tried to play with time twice now and look at the results. The past is done, it's over and you can't go back for a redo."

Smiling crookedly, she nodded "You're right, I know you're right but I can't help wishing Lex would just stop and see what he's doing to himself; wish that he could see that having all the power in the world, isn't worth losing his soul for."

"Even if he'd had someone who cared enough to show him that, he may never have turned from the path he was already on Lois and its pure speculation to think otherwise." Smallville said firmly.

"But extremely plausible speculation don't you think?" She asked with a half-smile.

"I'm not a philosopher so I don't know, but what I do know is that we could discuss this all day, yet never come to a resolution." He smiled back and wanting to change the tone of the conversation, swiped one hand over his jaw and said tongue in cheek "I wish that Jerome could have heard what Lex had to say about him; me…me, him and Clark."

Amused at that, she replied straight faced "He wasn't very complimentary to you was he?"

"Not very, no" He agreed with a big grin "But his ahhh… appraisal, certainly gives me some insight to what Lex really thought of me back in the day."

"He used to like you."

"I don't care that he doesn't but…"

When he trailed off with a pout, she coaxed soothingly "But what?"

"Back in the day when I was convinced that Lex stole Lana from me, I figured he did it because he was jealous of me and whenever I attacked him about it verbally, he slapped me down in retaliation but his manner was always somewhat bored." Moping for effect, he finished cheerlessly "He thinks that I'm tiresome."

"Not you; Jerome." Grinning entertained when he scowled mock angrily, she said cheerfully "You can't really blame him. The poor man listened to you snivelling about Lana for years before she dated you, so having to listen to even more when she began dating him, must have tried his patience to the limit." Stopping, she added mystified "But how on earth an experienced man of the world with his intelligence, expects to find anything other than aggravation and discontent by marrying a sulky little irritant, escapes me."

Letting out a shout of laughter, Smallville grinned and slinging one arm around her waist, urged her towards the car.

"Hon, you'd better move your arm or we're going to draw the wrong kind of attention to ourselves" She whispered quietly.

"If you lean on me, anyone who sees will simply think you're feeling weak after being in the hospital" He murmured back and smiled consolingly when she did as suggested.

oOo

Arriving back at the farm, Lois returned to the house, while Smallville tracked down his twin in the barn to give him the latest update about filling Lana in on their presence. However, at the lack of response and noting Clark's state of abstraction, he asked uneasily "What's wrong."

"I don't know; I don't even know if anything is but…" Sweeping his eyes over the loft, Clark stood with hands on hips and surveyed the area in minute detail "While you were gone I helped Jerome with a few farm chores and came up here afterwards, figuring that it was better to be safe than sorry…."

"Did the two of you get into it again?"

"No, but I have a feeling that just as I was on my best behaviour, that he was too" Clark replied absently "However, to ensure it stayed that way, I decided to escape up here for a bit but when I did, it struck me that something seemed out of place but I can't put my finger on what it is."

Looking around carefully, Smallville inspected the loft with both normal and x-ray vision "Could our keeping the book here, be making you feel antsy?"

"It could be."

"Why don't I take it to the fortress for safe keeping then" Retrieving the spell book from where they'd hidden it earlier, Smallville said "I'll be back in second" and returned less than a minute later "Well?"

"I do feel better but…" But still not completely comfortable yet not knowing precisely why, Clark shrugged and turned his full attention on his twin "What were you saying about Lana?"

Filling him in on Lois' idea, Smallville saw the smile light up in his Clark's and grinned in return "We're not going to do it unless we're all agreed, so what'd you think?"

"I think that I like the way Lois' mind works" He smiled slowly "So when are we going to tell Jerome the good news?"

"No time like the present but we first need to ensure that we're all keeping to the same story."

Discussing who was going to say what, the two men practiced their sincerity on each other and critiqued each other's performance, before nodding satisfied.

"That should do it" Smallville grinned wickedly "By keeping our capitulation brief to Jerome, it should alleviate any doubts he has about the genuineness of our goodwill for making up with him earlier and by the time we're finished with Lana, she shouldn't have any cause to believe that we're hiding anything."

"We're just so giving aren't we?" Clark chuckled and sweeping out his hand toward the stairs, said "Well let's go and help ease our little brother's fears some more, by showing him just how yielding we can be."

"Lets" Smallville laughed in return.

Stepping outside the barn, they met up with their mom and Chloe who were returning to the house after gathering the eggs from the hen house and some vegetables from the garden. Making small talk while walking to the farm house, the four no sooner stepped inside the kitchen then they heard Lois remark scornfully "You've gotta be kidding; Lana Lang is THE most mistrustful person on the face of this planet. The only time she immediately believes a person is speaking the truth, is when they're agreeing with her or saying something nice about her, otherwise she's sceptical."

"She's cautious Lois, not conceited" Jerome snapped back.

Noting the hostile stance the two had taken up opposite each other in the lounge room and all but smelling the conflict ripe in the air, Martha, Chloe, Smallville and Clark tried to gain attention by coughing and clearing of throats, but might have saved themselves the trouble when neither of the parties bothered paying them any mind being far to intent on each other to care or even spare, a glance sideways. Wondering who had said what to whom first, to provoke the other into what was clearly the latest flare up in progress, the four looked at each other in dismay before bending their minds on how to break them up, without becoming one of the walking wounded themselves.

Giving Jerome a look that spoke volumes, Lois retorted blandly "That's funny, only a minute ago you implied that she was gullible, and now you're saying that she's cautious."

"Cautiously gullible" He corrected and seeing the sneer on her face, continued before she could speak "And she has every right to be leery, given the number of weirdo's who live in this town that have tried to harm her, and the boyfriends who have turned on her…."

"Poor little flower."

"….but she keeps believing in people anyway" He finished ignoring her sarcastic interjection "And right now she believes in Lex, even though he's just using her because he wanted what I had."

"Uh huh."

"He always did."

"Right, because you just have soooo much" She drawled mockingly "Who wouldn't want all the bounty that you have."

"I'm not talking about money."

"Well that's good because I'd hate to have to correct you" She advised swiftly "Especially since I remember that you…that's older you by the way, told me that after your first bout with redK, your dad made you admit that you was jealous of Lex's monetary worth."

"I wasn't jealous just a little bothered, and it was only a momentary thing anyway" Jerome informed her defensively.

"If it was so momentary, then why then did you rob ATM's when you lived in Metropolis as Kal, less than a year later?" She questioned placidly.

Wondering if older him was the idiot who'd seen fit to tell her that as well, Jerome muttered sulkily "I needed money to live and anyway, I'm not responsible for what I do when under the influence of redK."

"Well you certainly needed that much money if you wanted to live like a king and apparently, you did" She agreed pointedly "But as for you not being responsible, well I have a whole lot to say about that and I'll be happy to share it with you later. For now, why don't you tell me what it was you had, that Lex wanted so desperately he had to resort to stealing it?"

"Lana, as if you don't know" He bit out caustically.

"How was I supposed to know, I thought you were talking about something he couldn't buy" She came back double-quick.

Mouths fell open even as the words, OH DEAR went through Martha's head and OH SHIT; flew the minds of the other three. Looking at each other, they knew it was now far too late for them to try and intervene. Lois' last comment was like waving a red rag in front of a bull and Jerome would not back down now, if his life depended on it.

Feeling mean for hitting below the belt, Lois held up one hand in apology "that was uncalled for" doesn't mean I'm not right, she finished silently.

"Lana can't be bought" Jerome bit out between clenched teeth.

Bet she can, Lois mused silently but nodded penitently "Sorry but really, you can't be serious."

"Of course I'm serious" He growled offended "The only way that Lex could ever get a girl like Lana is through treachery, which is exactly what he used to get her from me."

"Right, because being a sophisticated, well-educated 20 something year old billionaire, it's not like Lex is one of the world's most eligible bachelors, and can get any number of beautiful, sexy and accommodating women, eager to warm his bed for a night just by snapping his fingers. So out of desperation to escape from his pitiful bachelor existence, he's willing to give up his freedom for a schoolgirl, who has all the sophistication of a bed-bug in comparison to those women, just because Clark Kent, the boy who has all the experience of a pre-schooler when it comes to the opposite sex, thinks that she's the cat's meow." Giving him a mocking smile, Lois finished facetiously "If there is such a place where your teeny-bopper taste in girls carries any weight with a man like Lex Luthor, it could only exist on Bizzaro world."

Not knowing what Bizzaro world was but having no trouble discerning her meaning, Clark, Martha and Chloe silently laughed at the ridiculousness of Jerome's claim, given Lois' astute summarisation of those involved in the Clark, Lana and Lex mess of a triangle, while Smallville bit the inside of his cheek to stop himself from letting out a crack of laughter.

Hearing it put like that made Jerome feel positively stupid, which in turn made him feel really angry and resentful. The ridiculing tone her words were conveyed in and the accompanying eye roll at the end was simply the last straw. Sucking in air through his nose, he ground out "I don't care if you don't believe it, I know it's true."

"So you hate him because you think he stole Lana from you?" She asked unimpressed.

"For that and for a lot of other reasons as well."

"Funny how none of those reasons stopped you from tying to see the good in him, but getting involved with Lana did" She remarked sardonically and not giving him a time to respond, tacked on "Mind you, that seems more of an accusation against her than it does him."

"No it doesn't" Jerome negated rapidly.

"You didn't think he was too bad until he got involved with her; what does that tell you?"

Hearing the jocularity in the question, he snapped nettled "I'll have you know that I'd already started to see what Lex was like, before he got involved with Lana."

"Convenient." Unperturbed at the flare of anger in his eyes, Lois asked chattily "However moving on, please explain how he could have stolen something that wasn't yours in the first place, because that has me mystified."

Chewing her lip in apprehension, Martha sent up a prayer for some divine intervention before there was bloodshed; while Chloe who knew her cousin wasn't one to pull her punches, nevertheless flinched at Lois' heartless attitude about Lana's relationship with Lex to the point of criticising the girl for her part in it, right in Jerome's face.

Standing beside them, Smallville silently pleaded for his fiancée not to ruin all his and Clark's plans with her forthright manner and bending his gaze on her, hoped to instil prudence with the power of thought. And Clark, who well recalled his own argument with Lois upon his marriage, knew that nothing was going to stop either of them and simply watched and listened, while wondering how long it was going to take before Jerome realised that he was outmatched.

Looking at her in disbelief, he reminded her curtly "Lana was my girlfriend in case you've forgotten."

"You dumped her in case you've forgotten; there was no stealing involved" She said just as tersely.

"Yes there was" He returned adamantly refusing to give ground.

"Lana's a free thinking person in her own right and she's half of that relationship" Lois replied blandly "How unsurprising that you think she's above being criticised for getting involved with Lex, but you aren't prepared to be as generous towards him."

"She was upset about our break up and not thinking clearly, so it's not her fault."

"Oh, and do you believe that she also wasn't thinking clearly, when she hooked up with you before Jason was even cold in his grave, not to mention sleazing onto you while dating him, Whitney and Adam?" Lois asked sweetly and rolling right on, gave him a second option to choose from "Or do you believe that she wasn't thinking clearly when she got involved with any of them and it was only when she took up with you, that her mental faculties were luckily in full working order?"

"Lana and Jason were over long before she began dating me…" At her sneer, he ground his teeth and amended reluctantly "Ok, it wasn't long before but it was long enough…"

"And just how long is long enough when it comes to you getting Lana; five seconds, ten?"

Ignoring her interruption, he forged ahead "…and she was over it, so I didn't take advantage of her but as for coming onto me while dating others; she didn't do any such thing."

"I'm not going to waste my time refuting your last statement because we both know it's a load of hogwash but as for her being over her relationship with Jason, I believe she was over it, the second that she realised he wasn't under her thumb like she assumed. In fact she was so over it, that she didn't even seem to give a damn that the guy was killed" Lois remarked distastefully.

"He hurt and betrayed her Lois, what'd you expect" Jerome asked sharply.

"Did he beat her, rape her, torture her mentally for months on end, try and ruin her life or take it, in some contemptible fashion that I haven't yet mentioned?" She waited for him to reply and when he didn't, went on "No, ok so other than lying about being in Metropolis instead of China, exactly what did Jason do that was so bad, Lana couldn't even work up any compassion for the guy when he lost his life? Or do you think that he deserves to rot in hell for that?"

"No of course not but he was working with Lex and…"

"And you were best friends with Lex and Lana's now doing Lex, so what's your point?" She cut him off impatiently.

Stepping back as if he'd been punched in the jaw, Jerome sucked in air through his teeth. This was precisely what he couldn't stand about Lois, her damnable way of taking the truth and throwing it in his face so it seared like acid. She was supposed to be his friend but instead of commiserating with him about Lana's relationship with Lex as a true friend would, she was crass enough to throw the fact of their intimacy in his face.

He couldn't understand what in hell Clark and Smallville saw in her, AT ALL!

The two men made an 'eee' face, hoping and praying that something could salvaged out of the mess this argument had become. While Chloe and Martha looked at each other gobsmacked that Lois had actually dared to say out loud what everyone knew but had never had the guts to point out, even when they got fed up with listening to Jerome's never ending lament about Lana Lang.

Recovering from the shock of her words, he said angrily "My point is that they were working together, so he clearly couldn't be trusted."

"Your point is crap given what I've just said" She countered swiftly "And since you have no idea if the work Jason was doing for Lex was illegal or not…"

"They were looking for the stones" He cut in shortly.

"So what; the last I heard looking for a bunch of stones wasn't against the law."

"Clearly you have no idea just how significant those stones were Lois, maybe I should explain" He replied with sarcastic kindness.

"No need, my fiancée told me all about them a couple of years ago…sorry, that's a couple of years ago for me but about 6 in the future for you" She said with just as much false sweetness "Nonetheless, the significance of the stones is neither here nor there, looking for them wasn't illegal. However, should you wish to revile Lex and Jason for wanting to get their hands on them, go right ahead but keep in mind that means you'll be condemning Lana for being greedy as well, since she wanted them too."

"Her reason has nothing to do with greed it was bec…"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah; when don't you think Lana's reason for anything isn't completely ethical, selfless and upright?" Lois drawled in a bored voice "If she started robbing from the rich, you'd find a way to make her out to be the female version of Robin Hood, even if she was hoarding the money for herself, instead of giving to the poor."

"No I wouldn't."

"Yes you would" Lois affirmed bluntly "But be that as it may, don't go blaming your failure to note the obvious until the very last minute on Lex and Jason, just because they were clever enough to figure out the stones were powerful and looked for them, while you were too busy showing off your prowess on the football field to care, even though Jor-el had mentioned them to you and did everything except give you a map showing x marks the spot, of where they could be found."

Remembering all too well how apathetically foolish he'd been about the stones until it was almost too late, Jerome gnashed his teeth at the feeling of discomfiture her words evoked "I didn't know they were for me, he didn't tell me that I was supposed to find them."

"Yes, I'm sure that when Jor-el mentioned them, you just figured that he was making small talk to kill a few minutes because he's such a chatty guy" Lois snorted indelicately.

"Alright; I made a mistake!" He snapped goaded.

"Only one of many" She stated satirically.

Flushing at that, he glared "Fine but Lex is no angel either; he lied to me from the very beginning and Jason…"

"That rat bastard; how dare Lex lie to you when you've been nothing but honest with him" She declared with mock anger before advising helpfully "When giving a reason for your snide attitude towards Lex to someone who knows the back story between you, try picking something that doesn't make you sound so appallingly hypocritical, otherwise all your arguments against him will just be tossed aside like so much garbage. He's Lex, there are plenty of things to choose from and I can think of 10 right of the top of my head and furthermore, don't try putting Lana's heartless attitude towards Jason's death, down to his association with Lex because that's a crock." Poking him with her finger, she asked brutally "I wonder how she'd like it if something happened to her and no one cared a damn because everyone was too disgusted by her relationship with a Luthor. I wonder how you'd feel. Would you be just as understanding by people feeling that way, or would you be insulted and angry on her behalf?"

"Lana didn't tell me that was the reason, I just thought…." He broke off embarrassed.

"Well don't think if it's going to result in you flinging around baseless accusations that have no foundation, just because you've got an axe to grind" She advised caustically.

"Fine!" He returned bitingly "But what I do know for a fact is that Jason followed her home from Paris and pursued a relationship with her, for reasons that weren't above board and…" Stopping when she began to laugh, he growled "You think that's funny."

"I think it's hilarious" She stated openly "If Lana doesn't like guys following her around like a bunch of stray puppies, then she shouldn't leave a trail of dog biscuits wherever she goes and furthermore, if her poor little feelings were hurt because Jason pursued her with ulterior motives in mind, then tough shit!" Pushing her face into his, Lois stated emphatically "I can't think of anyone who deserves to have gotten a taste of her own medicine more, than Lana Lang."

Jerome's eyes narrowed "What do you mean by that?"

"I mean that she's the biggest user that ever lived" Lois answered immediately.

"She is not" He slammed back insulted.

"Says you…" She grunted unruffled "I don't believe the girl even has the time to feel anything so inconvenient as a genuine emotion, because she's too damn busy calculating the odds on what she can get out of anyone who's unfortunate enough to cross her path; Lex being her latest victim."

Feeling his heart leap at the notion that Lana didn't care about Lex at all, Jerome reigned in the desire to let out a yell of joy and knowing Lois wouldn't be inclined to say anything if he sounded too eager, demanded instead "What do you mean by that?"

"I should think it's fairly obvious."

"Well it's not obvious to me."

"Nothing's obvious to you where Lana's concerned because when it comes to her, you prefer to live in the dark and eat all the bullshit she feeds you, just like a mushroom" She retorted bluntly.

Offended, he folded his arms and glared "Explain your comment about her using Lex."

"Happy to, but first you tell me…" Winging up one brow, Lois asked cordially "Both before you dated Lana and while you were dating her, you griped about Lex to her in one way or another; said he couldn't be trusted, he's a Luthor, she needs to watch her step with him etc, etc, etc. Sometimes you gave her genuine reasons for your mistrust of him but mostly, you fed her half-truths to disguise the fact that you were scared spit-less of Lex because you knew, that no excuse was going to be good enough to explain how you survived being hit by his car with such force the day you met, since he was fully conscious before his car went over the bridge. You had tried various ways and means to get him to give up looking into that day, including threatening to break off your friendship and making him feel bad for doubting your word that you were hiding anything, but he wasn't about to let it go and you knew that. However, you couldn't very well tell Lana that Lex had chosen to productively spend his time looking for the truth and would find it sooner or later without your help, when her way of getting at your secret was by nagging you about it night and day, correct?"

Jerome's face burned with guilt but his mask stayed firmly in place, while the men nodded silently from the sidelines, while Martha and Chloe simply waited anxiously wondering what was coming.

Taking a breath, Lois continued sedately "Now after turning back the day to save Lana's life, I believe it would have been even more imperative for you to keep her safe from Lex at all costs, even if that meant flat out lying to her face about why she should hold him at arm's length. It made no difference if everyone else had forgotten the events of that day, you remembered them and under those circumstances, I'm as sure as sure can be, that you would have considered lying to her justifiable." Not expecting an answer and not receiving one, Lois kept her eyes straight on his and asked curiously "So why, out of all the guys who live in this town and there are more than enough, even for a girl like Lana Lang who needs a guy in her life just to feel good about herself, WHY did she choose to take up with Lex Luthor in particular, despite all the warnings you had so painstakingly tried to impress up on her?"

Jerome shrugged bad tempered but refused to answer.

"The reason is really very simple, it's called revenge" She told him frankly "I'll freely admit that despite my aversion to Lana, I can understand and even appreciate her desire to hit back at you. A little payback to make an ex feel just as lousy as he made you feel when he walked out with no regard for your feelings at all, is more than ok in my book BUT…" Stabbing her finger into his chest for emphasis, she finished emphatically "…using someone else to do it without caring a damn for their feelings, is out of bounds as far as I'm concerned."

For the first time able to accept Lana's relationship with Lex for what it was, thanks to Lois' helpful criticism of it, Jerome nevertheless wasn't about to remove the blame from the one person he knew was responsible, for his and Lana's separation "Lex took advantage of her."

"Someone took advantage alright but it wasn't him" Lois countered evenly "However, that wasn't the first time Lana used Lex, nor is he the only person she's used that way, so I'm not surprised that she stayed true to form and did it again."

"She hasn't done that to anyone, she wouldn't" He retorted insulted.

"That's what users do, they use people" Lois informed him slowly as if he was a child.

"Lana isn't callous with people's feelings and that's what a user is" He said crisply.

"Considering you think it's a privilege to be lead around by the nose for sport by Lana Lang, I'm not surprised that you find nothing to fault in her behaviour with others."

Affronted at that, Jerome glowered angrily "I would never let anyone treat me like that, and Lana has never tried."

"Are you on crack?" Lois gawped astounded "For four solid years before Lana condescended to be your girlfriend, she dated one guy after another. Yet whenever trouble came her way and she needed shelter from the big bad world, who did she run to? Oh that's right; you! She kept running to the one guy who she knew, was dying to get into her pants and he just happened to be the very same guy, that she never failed to remind was withholding a secret from her, which is why she couldn't trust him and so they couldn't be together and blah, blah, blah; what'd you call that if not calculated?" Stabbing her finger in his chest, she followed it up by asking "And what'd you call it when you go dashing to her side whenever she whistles, even though you never get anything more than a bitch-fest from her in thanks?" Making a sound of disgust, her lip curled in contempt "That girl set you up from day one and you were so green, not to mention blinded by lust; that you couldn't even see she was totally playing you for a sucker."

"Lana doesn't play games" He announced hotly "She cared about me but my secret…"

"Don't kid yourself…" Lois cut him off sharply "Your secret is what she cared about, and you got lost somewhere in her ambition to discover it!?"

"Trust is what she cared about" He shot back rapidly.

"Bullshit!" Lois shot back just as fast "She wanted to know what you were hiding and she treated you like a damn puppy that she was training, just to get it out of you. When you were a good boy, she gave you a treat by slithering all over you, just to ensure that you copped an eyeful of the goodies that you may, if you were a real obedient and did everything as she said, MAY, just be good enough to touch one day but until that day came, she taught you how to mind her by running back to her boyfriends as punishment, whenever you pissed her off about your secret. And she did it all, simply because she knew that unlike most male dogs who'll jump on anything when they're randy, that you wouldn't because you thought she was the only bitch in town worth humping."

At the crude analogy, his mouth fell open in outrage "I can't believe you just said that."

"Why not, it's true" She replied simply.

Smallville almost felt sorry for Jerome. His little brother had never dealt with Lois Lane unbound before. He might have thought that he had but until now, she'd taken it relatively easy on him. He had learnt soon after working with her at the Planet, that the impudent personality which Lois was famous for, was only the tip of the iceberg. The rest of her fiery temperament was under the surface and sometimes, you just didn't know what was going to come out and bite you in the throat.

Wondering if his little brother had yet figured out that he wasn't about to win, Clark ducked his head and snickered, while simultaneously feeling grateful that it wasn't his head on the chopping block.

Eyes wide, Chloe whispered frantically "Mrs Kent we have to stop this."

Feeling stunned that things had degenerated to such an extent, Martha shook her head visibly upset "I'm not sure we can. Both of them are so impassioned about Lana, that I don't think they'd even listen to us."

Hearing their mother's words, humour fled as Clark winced and mumbled to Smallville "Mom's right, Jerome's passionate about Lana and Lois is passionate against Lana and this is not going to end well, unless we can put a stop to it."

Looking at the fierceness on his fiancée's face, he muttered back "Got any ideas of how to do that, without getting our head bitten of by Lois for interfering?"

"No."

"I told her not to say anything that could rile Jerome up and although I don't blame her for getting sick of his attitude, she must know that attacking Lana isn't the way to make friends with the young idiot."

Hearing the testiness in his voice, Clark muttered defensively "You can't blame her for speaking out against the person who's responsible for all that's happened, especially when that person is a sore point with her at the moment."

"Who told you that?"

"Lois."

"Thanks for not warning me" He hissed back.

"I didn't think of it."

"How could you not think of it? You know what Lo's like when she feels intensely about something, and you know what we were like about Lana" He growled back under his breath.

"Sorry."

Refraining from rolling his eyes, Smallville muttered from the side of his mouth "The last time Lois and I began discussing Lex and Lana's relationship, we ended having a huge fight which only finished when she threw her engagement ring back in my face."

"That's what the fight was about" Clark whispered astonished.

"Yes, Lo has very strong views on who's responsible for the Lex/Lana debacle, and believe me when I say it's not Lex."

"I can tell" Clark snickered softly.

Giving him a sour look, Smallville grumbled low voiced "Yes very funny, let's see if you're still laughing when she finishes with Jerome and starts in on us."

"What'd do you mean?"

"I mean that although she holds Lana responsible for instigating the relationship with Lex, she isn't shy about expressing her opinion on mine and Lana's shitty behaviour before, during and after the marriage."

Sobering, he made a face "I can imagine; you should have heard what she had to say when Lana and I eloped in my time."

"I'd ask, but your tone tells me ignorance is bliss" Smallville replied in an undertone "The thing is that whether it's your time, my time or this time, Lois will always remain Lois. So we'd better think of a way to break those two up, before she decides to start sharing her views on what she thinks of Jerome's behaviour."

"I'll try" Clark promised fervently.

Meanwhile…

Shooting her a disgusted look, Jerome retorted angrily "Firstly, Lana didn't do that and secondly, I think it's incredibly crass of you to even put it like that."

"Crass is my middle name" Lois retorted airily.

"So I'm discovering" He replied nastily.

"It's better than chump, which is yours" She tossed back rudely.

Hearing the muffled laughter off to the side, Jerome ignored it and glared "Just get back to the point."

"Fine; when Lana began dating you, she needed a new threat to keep you dancing to her tune. After all, she could no longer punish you by running back into her boyfriend's arms whenever you refused to tell her your secret, since you were…."

"Stop right there, oh wise one" Jerome called out sweetly "If as you say, Lana cared more about my secret than she did about me, then why did she say that she loved me and why did she become my girlfriend, when I still hadn't told her anything. Have you got an answer for that?"

"Funny you should ask" She said just as sweetly in return, causing the hair on the nape of his neck to stand on end and those watching, to gulp nervously. Smiling pleasantly, Lois continued in a voice of false demureness "Now I distinctly recall when you…sorry when older you, told me all the nitty gritty details of your relationship with Lana, I was immediately struck by the timing of her heartfelt declaration. Maybe if the two of us put out heads together, we can figure out what change had occurred that caused her to throw all her so called principles out the window, and graciously allow you to be her boyfriend."

Knowing she was trying to goad him by pronouncing the word 'boyfriend' in a childish tone made his hackles rise, but also knowing that his taunting question was about to result in her saying something that was going to get on his wick even more, Jerome kept to the matter at hand to and said abruptly "Nothing had changed, except for Lana realising that she loved me too much to let my secret come between us any longer."

Knowing it would be really mean to giggle, Lois silently thanked heaven that her fiancée no longer talked like a badly written teen soap opera character and instead replied affably "Aww that is so touching BUT, you've just completely contradicted yourself." Seeing the confusion on his face, she nudged "Don't you remember, on the day you proposed to Lana, Chloe asked you for the _**real**_ the reason why you told her the truth, and you said it was because it was only a matter of weeks, before she broke things off. Meaning, that Lana was sick and tired of you keeping things from her and was about to leave you high and dry, and now you've just told me that Lana loved you so much, that she decided your secret shouldn't keep you apart after all; so which is it?"

Jerome stared at her nonplussed for several beats, before saying slowly "At first she loved me enough not to care, but then the lies got too much and she started drifting away, and that's what happened."

Giving him points for returning an answer that while feeble, squeaked through to being passable, she decided to let him of the hook "Thanks for explaining."

Ignoring the tone in her voice which all but shouted that she didn't agree, Jerome nevertheless felt confidence rise that he'd been able to defend his position, and in turn challenged "Happy to help; now answer my question."

"Are you sure that you want me to?" She asked directly.

Crossing their fingers that he would take the out she was giving him, the four closed their eyes as if making a wish.

"I'm not scared of you Lois, so go ahead and take your best shot" He bulldozed ahead, causing them to shake their heads at his obstinacy.

"If you insist" Sighing, she kept her eyes fixed on his said forthright "What I find awfully interesting, is that from day one, Lana blamed your refusal to be open with her about your secret, as the reason for most of the ills that befell your association with her. So basically, she put the onus completely on you and in turn, you felt both lousy and frustrated by the whole thing, correct?"

"She was right to put the onus on me because I was the one who refused to tell her anything" He declared firmly "And yes, I did feel both feel lousy for lying to her and frustrated by her lack of trust in me but I understood why, even if I didn't like it."

Nodding in acceptance of that, she flicked up one brow inquisitively "Since you explained that so well, maybe you can further enlighten me why, after refusing to give into any and all overtures made by you day after day, month after month, year after year, Lana suddenly decided to go against her uncompromising stance regarding your secret to date you…."

"She did go on a couple of dates with me" He interrupted to inform her helpfully "Which means that she didn't always knock me back; try again."

"Well of course she did, the girl's not a complete idiot" Lois replied witheringly "If she only ever told you to get lost and leave her alone, one day you might have mistakenly believed that she meant it and how could she bully you into spilling your guts, if you weren't sniffing around her? Whereas, by giving you a little taste every now and again of what could be all yours, IF you just opened your yap and told her your secret, then one day you just might be desperate enough to give in and do it."

Sucking in air through his nose, Jerome growled "Just get on with it."

"Just to be sure we understand each other; I'm talking about the two of you dating. As in Lana was your girlfriend, you were her boyfriend and you were a couple; are we on the same page now?" At his curt nod, Lois nodded in return "Ok, well despite your sucky explanation, I find her behaviour incomprehensible. It makes no sense that Lana would have a change of heart, when the status quo between the two of you hadn't changed at all. You still hadn't told her what you were hiding and she had no guarantee that you ever would. So the trust issues that she'd been whining about for years, was still right there between you. Yet out of the blue for no reason whatsoever, she ups and makes a tender little declaration of love. Don't you find it…well apart from everything else; don't you find the timing of her softening attitude towards you, just a little too convenient?"

"You think she had a reason" He stated scornfully.

"I think she had three but they all go hand in hand and given her nature, they're the only thing that makes any sense to me for her change of heart…." Pausing for a beat, she added dryly "…unless of course Lana had a lobotomy that I don't know about."

"I don't know what you're getting at" He said defensively and finished silently, but I know that I'm not going to like it.

"Then I'll be happy to explain what I believe was her first reason, without mincing words" Lois replied pleasantly and taking a deep breath, said "Lana Lang the football groupie, who'd formerly been nutty about Jason Teague, suddenly does an about face shortly after he's fired as the assistant football coach, and begins finding fault with everything he does. Sound familiar? It should, since she'd previously found it damn near impossible to open her mouth without bitching about you but not anymore. No, now she's seeing you in a whole new light and gee what a coincidence, you're no longer an insignificant nothing wasting away in high school obscurity, but the big star of the Smallville high football team." Taking a deep breath, she barrelled right on "Not content with trying to shed Jason like a snake that shed's its skin, she starts vilifying the guy to anyone who'll give her an ear, most particularly YOU, to not only amass sympathy for herself but to justify her skanky behaviour. Then she really moves in for the kill by freely telling you her business, and having to go all on her little lonesome to China, and while insisting that she hadn't intended dragging you into her mess of a life, starts whispering what a rock you are and how she can trust you because you don't have an agenda. Then the two of you play mommy and daddy and she finally knows where she belongs, hint, hint at the big football stars side. Unfortunately you don't pick up that hint, nor any of the others that follow; upon which she changes tactics and oh so sweetly offers her fickle heart to you."

When she was finished, the four looked at each other dumbfounded. Only Lana would know whether Lois was right, wrong or if there was at least a kernel of truth in the hypothesis, but her words had nevertheless struck them all with blinding effect.

Blinking, Jerome couldn't think of anything to say and wished that he'd kept his mouth shut, instead of defying her to talk and further realised that Lois did scare him, when she asked cordially "Would you now like me to explain what I believe was her second and third reasons, which as I said before, all tie in with her first?"

Looking at her like she was a cobra waiting to strike, he stammered dazedly "No…I…no...I…"

"No, perhaps it's best if I don't" Lois agreed but was unable to stop from adding with a touch of asperity "but just for the record, I also believe her subsequent relationship with Lex, was just as cold bloodedly orchestrated."

At that, Jerome gave himself a good hard shake and narrowed his eyes on her "What about Lex?"

"Do you really want me to explain?" She asked bored.

"Yes, I really want you to explain" He retorted defiantly causing the four to almost throw up their hands in defeat.

"Well as I was saying before, once Lana began dating you she could no longer punish you by running back into her boyfriend's arms whenever you ticked her off, because you were her boyfriend. However, she still needed a big stick to whack her little puppy with and teach him to behave, so…"

"I'm not a dog, so cut out the colourful analogy" He gritted out between clenched teeth.

"If I must but I personally think it's appropriate" Lois shrugged undaunted "So anyway, she still needed something to bully you with and since the girl's not one for originality, she zeroed in on a guy. This guy of course had to have certain qualities that she wasn't only partial to, but could be used to keep you on your toes and be beneficial to her scheme all at the same time and there so conveniently to hand, was Lex."

"And how do you figure that Lex fit all these supposed qualities of hers."

"Firstly he's loaded, which I'm sure appealed mightily to her greedy little heart. Secondly, she knew that any time she spent with Lex, would make you sweat in fear that she was going to be seduced away, which is precisely why she did it and ensured that you knew about it and thirdly, given his upbringing and the reception he gets wherever he goes, Lex would of course be grateful to the first person who's not asking for favours on one hand and accusing him of dirty deeds on the other, much like you did and there's Lana, not wanting anything but a friend she can turn to, one that she can trust and freely offering the same in return, by openly sharing with him and defending him to others etc., etc." Taking a breath, she added finally "There's also the main reason why I believe she considered Lex perfect for her scheme but it's to do with the future, so I'm not going to share it with you."

Not paying any attention to that, he retorted firmly "Firstly, Lana doesn't care about money any more than the next person…" Ignoring her snort, Jerome continued fixedly "Secondly, I knew that she loved me so I wasn't worried about losing her to Lex, I was worried about her wellbeing and…"

"Keep telling yourself that" Lois hooted rudely.

Disregarding her interjection, he growled insulted "Next, I did not use Lex…" Glaring when she scoffed rudely, he summed up "And thirdly, Lana did not plan to become involved with him, he came onto her."

"And she was really fighting him off wasn't she?" Lois retaliated sarcastically "Is the girl such a brain dead moron, that she thought spending all her free time with a guy who wants to get her into the sack, will discourage him? No! She's a manipulative little miss who knew precisely what she was doing and she kept doing it, until she had both you and Lex good and tight by the balls" Seeing his face turn vermillion with embarrassment, Lois made a noise of impatience and continued "Lana knew that anything male only had to look at her sideways, for you to feel threatened and the hackles to rise. So she deliberately began to cultivate a deeper, closer and more personal relationship with Lex, then she'd ever bothered to before. The kind of relationship that she'd previously taken great pains to nurture with you, while dating other guys."

"No" He repeated, shaking his head for good measure.

"No…" She repeated chattily "Ok then explain to me why, after all the years of running to you whenever she needed a big strong hero to save her, despite the fact that her boyfriends were standing right there, WHY did Lana start running to Lex the second, that she started dating you? Suddenly she's seeking his advice, telling him her all troubles, needing him to give her cuddles when the world was a scary place; not you, not anymore." Pausing to take a breath, Lois asked grimly "So if she didn't have a particular agenda in mind, if she wasn't just getting cosy with Lex, either as an intimidation tactic to keep you dancing to her tune or lining him up as her next boyfriend, then why did she immediately start running to him with her multitude of problems, instead of to you. Especially given that she apparently trusted you enough to be your girlfriend at last, and it was you that she ran to while dating Whitney, Adam and Jason, which by the way was when she was moaning about not being able to trust you."

Feeling like he was drowning under wave upon wave of verbal onslaughts, Jerome fell back weakly on the familiar "Lex knew that I was hiding something and used that to gain her trust and…."

"She already knew it too; try again" Lois interjected coolly "But speaking off Lana's whole attitude about your secret, how do you explain her relationships with both Adam and Jason?" Raising one brow, she said pointedly "The way I understand it, Lana knew damn all about Adam before hooking up with him but it didn't stop her, did it? Nor did it stop her from inviting this total stranger to move in at the Talon with her. Then we move onto Jason, who she met while in Paris and considering she was only there for 3 months all told, she'd have to have met him on the plane going there, to even state that she'd known him for that long before taking up with him." Giving him an ironical glance, she asked smoothly "So am I to understand that you find nothing amiss, with Lana sanctimoniously blasting you daily for hiding things from her and using that as the reason for why she couldn't be with you, even though this was all going on while she was busy playing kissy face, with two guys that she didn't know from a hole in the ground. Oh and before you answer, keep in mind that with the exception of one secret, she knew most everything else about you and your family, which is a lot more than can be said for the fact that all she knew about Adam or Jason, were their names."

Seeing Jerome swallow convulsively, the four observers felt pity stir. He was trying so valiantly to defend Lana but was losing the verbal war to a more experienced adversary; one moreover who because of her profession was used to mentally staying on her toes and fighting with words.

Fighting back the truth of what she was saying, Jerome shook his head and kept shaking it. He wouldn't believe it. He knew Lana; knew she hated games. That was why she got so upset when she thought he was playing them with her. Lois was wrong, she was wrong!

"I don't know" He said after a full minute of silence "I don't know about Lex and I don't know about the others but I know that you're wrong. I know that what you're trying to imply is wrong."

"I've implied a lot of things, I've outright stated others and I've also asked a couple of direct questions, that I've yet to receive an answer to other than, I don't know" She corrected candidly "You can choose to go on ignoring the obvious if you want to but if you're really serious about wanting to make a life with Lana, then you need to start seeing situations for what they are, rather than the more appetising versions that you cook up, just so that you can keep her guilt free about everything in your mind."

"I don't do that."

"The fact that you can say that so readily, without every pausing to think about anything that's been said by me, Smallville or Clark today, proves me right" Lois rebutted directly "Your thoughts about Lana are so out of touch with reality, that even now you've painted her as the poor little innocent that Lex is wickedly despoiling, instead of seeing that she's the one at fault, not him."

"Lex is to blame and only Lex" Jerome announced stonily.

"Really, so before getting involved with Lex, Lana didn't have a several unpleasant run in's with him and you and Chloe didn't try to counsel, warn or get her to weigh the odds before jumping into a relationship with him, nor bothered trying to point out that the consequences of such a relationship, could prove disastrous. And she hasn't coldly told you to mind your own business; that she knows exactly what she's doing and loyally defending her choice to be with him because you know, I could have sworn that I've been told all of that did happen."

Firming his lips, he refused to respond.

"Don't be fooled by my appearance Jerome, I only look like the Lois you know but I'm from the future remember" She said dryly "In 2007 I was mostly in the dark about what was going on, but all those blanks have since been filled in for me by my fiancée and my cousin. So there's very little, if anything that I'm in the dark about."

"I prefer 2007 Lois" He said flatly "She may be a pain in the butt but at least she didn't rubbish Lana like you do."

"What you call me rubbishing Lana, I call me being too smart to be taken in by her and since I prefer Clark Kent circa 2015 to you, I'm not going to take umbrage at you preferring my younger self to me" Lois replied sedately "But FYI, everything that I think about Lana, so does she. The only difference between us is that I know all the details and she doesn't, so her distaste of Lana doesn't run as strong in her veins, as they do in mine but the dislike is there and it will grow." Lifting one shoulder, Lois rounded out by saying "She also doesn't care if you want to squander the rest of your life staring at Lana's photo, but I know your true potential and what you can do, so think it's a hideous waste."

It's MY life and they're MY powers and what I do or don't do with them is MY decision and I don't need, much less want your approval, Jerome retorted silently but said out loud "Well since I could never be with anyone who doesn't even like Lana and never love anyone but Lana, our so called future relationship doesn't stand a chance, does it?"

Holding himself back from barging in, Smallville quickly grabbed onto Clark's arm to likewise prevent him from moving forward "Lois won't thank us for rushing into to defend her right now."

"I thought you wanted to stop this" Clark growled under his breath.

"I do but butting in now will just make things worse" He advised softly while keeping his eyes on the two combatants.

Looking him up and down, Lois drawled insolently "Honey, you don't stand a chance with me EVER, until you grow up and start wearing big boy pants at the very least."

The two men silently applauded while Jerome, flushing hotly in embarrassment accused wildly "You can't even stand Lex."

"So what?"

"So I find it awfully curious why you're defending him so enthusiastically, instead of siding with people who are supposed to be your friends; especially when one of those friends is reputed to be a younger version of your fiancée."

Fair question, Chloe thought silently. Even as Martha, who noted the flare of red on Lois' face and wasn't sure if it was temper or embarrassment, simply crossed all her fingers and toes.

Grimacing, Clark shook his head but unable to stop watching, closed one eye in defence. While Smallville, upon hearing his fiancée's blood pressure shoot up at the last attack, peeped at them through his fingers.

Blinking in astonishment, Lois smacked the side of her head as if she hadn't heard right "So you think that if I care about someone, that I should just dump all their shit on Lex because he doesn't matter at all and if I don't do that, then I'm being disloyal to the person that I love, is that right?"

"No I'm just saying…"

"Let me make something abundantly clear…" She cut Jerome off sharply "I will never cheerfully ascribe all the rotten things other people do to Lex's account, just because I want to believe the best about them and don't like him. Doing that may sit alright on your conscience, it doesn't on mine."

"Mine either" Clark and Smallville said loudly in unison.

Swinging around, they finally acknowledged the presence of four but only spared them a cursory glance, before turning back to face each other once again.

"I don't do that" Jerome informed her tightly "But I know what I know, and I know that he stole Lana from me."

Waving the men over, Lois looked from one to the next, to the next and asked directly "Do you two agree with that?"

"He had a hand in mine and Lana's break up, but I gave up the notion of him stealing her years ago remember?" Smallville threw in rapidly.

"I'm with him" Clark held up his hands for peace.

"I do" Jerome confirmed inflexibly.

"Well I don't think he even had a hand in the break up, that was all yours and Lana's doing" She refuted abruptly "However I'll be happy to give you my point of view on that in a minute, for now…" Turning her attention to Jerome, she asked with biting sweetness "Tell me; do you hate Lex because you believe that he stole Lana from you, or do you hate him for succeeding where you failed? After all, you never managed to lure her away from any of her boyfriends, despite giving it your very best effort with every one she had. So am I to understand that stealing Lana from another is alright, as long as you're the one who tries it or doesn't it count because you never managed to succeed?"

Blushing vividly at that Jerome began defensively "I wasn't…I didn't…" Seeing the cynical look on her face, he gave it up and changing tactics, said evenly "Maybe you don't know everything you think you do Lois. Did you know that Lex used a woman to hypnotise me and…"

"I know all about it" She announced openly "And I also know before that happened, you were feeling the walls closing in on you because Lana was no longer content with trying to wheedle, bribe or blackmail the secret out of you…"

"She never tried any of that" Jerome protested irritably.

"She tried all of that and in fact, the bribing and blackmail come under the second reason for why I believe she gave you that tender little declaration of love." Quirking one brow, she asked politely "Would you like me to explain?"

Hoping that this time he'd be smart enough to say no, the four held their breath while Jerome sucked in his. He dearly wanted to defy her and say yes, if only to prove she didn't scare him but she did. He was still recovering from her earlier theory but how to beg her not to go on without losing face, he didn't know. Worse still, now that his brothers were standing at his side, he could no longer ignore their presence and had to temper his replies or risk getting them offside, which would be counter-productive to his own plans.

Seeing the indecision on his face, she asked in the sweetest of voices "How about I just get back to what I was saying, hmmm?"

Giving her a dirty look but feeling that was as close to an out as he could get without backing down, Jerome nodded silently.

"So to reiterate, since Lana was no longer content with just questioning you, but also actively investigating the space ship that she saw on the day of the meteor shower, and no doubt the aliens as well, you were sweating buckets that she'd find out how they all tied to you and didn't know which way to turn." She swung round to pin her fiancée and Clark with a look "That's why I don't agree with you that Lex had anything to do with the breakup. You and Lana did it all. She knew that she was making you miserable with all her pushing and nagging and crying to tell her your secret, but since she also knew that you didn't have the guts to tell her to shut the hell up, the distress she was causing you was a matter of supreme indifference to her, and if you had stopped talking about telling her the truth over and over and over again to Chloe, until the poor girl was near driven insane listening to that crap and just done it, you would have known how Lana felt about it your secret one way or the other, and everyone would have been spared a lot of aggravation. But no, instead of backing off, Lana kept on hitting at you for the truth and since you knew that she wasn't about to give up until she'd managed to beat it out of you, the only way that you could think of to preserve your precious secret and get out of the fix you were in, was by dumping Lana and running for the nearest exit; end of story!"

Taken aback, Smallville and Clark blinked while processing everything she said and nodded slowly in agreement, while Jerome murmured feebly "That's not true."

"It's not…" Lois countered with scorn ripe in her voice "Then why did you break up with her? You knew that she wouldn't blame you for her parent's death, or be turned off at the discovery that you were alien. You learnt both those things on the day you proposed to her. So why not just tell her again, instead of letting her go?"

"I was trying to protect her from being hurt by her association with me."

"And since you're now determined to get her back, does that mean you no longer care about her welfare?"

"Of course I do but…"

When he trailed off miserably, she decided to give him a helping hand "If you now think it's safe for Lana to be with you, then that's one point I won't argue, IF you can at least tell me what change has occurred in your life, to change your opinion on the matter." Sweeping out one hand invitingly, she asked chattily "Are you no longer an alien with super powers? Do you know for a fact that no more Kryptonians will come to Earth and threaten the lives of your loved ones, unless you cooperate with them; what about other aliens or criminals, people with meteor powers or just anyone, who either can or will hurt Lana just to hurt you. Has Smallville neglected to tell me, that he has the power of seeing into the future and that's how you know its ok for you to be with Lana again?"

Nonplussed, Jerome stared at her blankly. He'd never been confronted so baldly about his talk of getting Lana back and knowing that anything he said would be scoffed at, muttered resentfully "You're engaged to him and you seem safe enough."

At that, she smiled crookedly "_**Safe**_, is a matter of perspective and my fiancee, has never tried to break up with me using any excuse, much less one about it being for my protection. However, the point we're discussing at the moment isn't my health, it's that I believe you broke up with Lana to protect your secret, NOT to protect her."

"And I'm telling you again I did."

"Then answer my question. Why is it safe for her to be with you now, when less than a year ago it wasn't?"

Unable to think, Jerome hunched his shoulders defensively and fell back on the familiar "She's with Lex and…."

"So you're the lesser of two evils then" She filled in with he didn't finish the thought.

"No I'm just…." Taking a deep breath, he tried again "Lex is no good and Lana is too good to be hurt by anyone who doesn't love her completely."

"I understand now, you simply want to save her from Lex because she deserves better than to be married to a louse, whose only using her for his own ends." Tipping her head to the side, she mused out loud "You know that sounds so noble but the gesture is somewhat tarnished by the fact that I recall Smallville telling me, that when he bravely let Lana go to protect her from being hurt by him, it was with the hope that she would find happiness with someone else, someone who wouldn't hurt her; that is what you told Chloe right? So here's my question to all three of you, what part of protecting Lana from your alien-ness or whatever you want to call it, and what part of rescuing her from Lex's evil clutches for her safety of course, not because you wanted her back or anything, and what part of bravely sending her off to find happiness with some guy who'll love her as she deserves; does Clark setting up house with Lana play in all these high ideals of yours?"

Seeing Smallville wince, Clark flinch and the discomposure on Jerome's face, Lois felt an inordinate amount of satisfaction at their chagrin.

"It played no part" Clark mumbled feeling like an unruly school boy being reprimanded by the principal.

"THANK YOU!" She said heartily.

Recovering speedily, Jerome corrected mockingly "Setting up house implies that Clark and Lana only lived together but they're married; there is a difference you know."

Yeah and thanks for reminding me why I couldn't just kick her lying ass out of my life when I was sick of her, the man under discussion mentally yelled at his younger counterpart belligerently.

"You're right of course because once they were married, Lana was protected by the magical aura of wedding ring, I'm sure that she could even use it to stop bullets if need be" Lois lifted her eyes to heavens as if searching for help, before getting back to the point "Lex sending that woman to hypnotise you, simply sped up the process of you dumping Lana, but it would have happened anyway because you began looking for a way out, the minute you knew that she was investigating the space ship and getting a bit too close to the truth. However, blaming Lex is more convenient because now you can see yourself as a martyr who gallantly gave up Lana for her own good, instead of a coward who dumped her because he was scared she was going to uncover his secret and either hate him for it, or hate him for not just telling her the truth himself."

"I knew she wouldn't hate me" Jerome negated tightly.

"Then I ask again; why didn't you just tell her?" She came back swiftly "And don't waste my time with a load of crap about keeping her in the dark to protect her; if you really felt that way then and if you still care about her wellbeing now, then you would stay out of her life once and for all. You wouldn't keep trying to shove your way back into it at every opportunity, irrespective of who she's with because YOUR circumstances…have…not…changed!"

When Jerome simply folded his arms and stared at her mutinously without responding, Lois mirrored his stance and stared right back.

"They've hit a stalemate at last" Chloe whispered thankfully.

"Mmm, but neither of them are going to give way to the other from what I can see" Martha murmured distressed.

Shoulder's slumping, she nodded in agreement "You're right; Lois won't cry uncle when she believes that's she's right and Jerome who's even more stubborn than she is, can keep this up all day and all night without getting tired."

Hearing them talking, Clark nodded to himself. They were right; Lois and Jerome could go round in circles forever because neither was willing to bend. Lois hadn't softened her stance once during their argument, and didn't look like she would anytime soon. While Jerome couldn't, because doing so would fly in the face of all he'd ever believed about Lana, and unless he was willing to let go of his vision of her, the two of them were going to be stuck in a state of deadlock forever.

Pretty sure that he could see the vein in Jerome's temple tick and figuring that he'd better break them up before his younger brother had a fit of apoplexy, Smallville cleared his throat loudly then took a step back when both swung round to glare at him for interrupting their staring contest. Stepping forward with a congenial smile, he suggested peaceably "Look, all four of us can spend the rest of the day arguing and/or glaring at each other, but nothing will be settled because we're all pretty opinionated. So why don't we all just agree to disagree to keep the peace, since that seems to be the only thing we can agree on."

Not missing the pleading look shot at her by her fiancée, Lois exhaled noisily "Fine, I'll try to hold my tongue and not say anything more."

"That'll be the day" Jerome growled under his breath.

Hearing him, her lips twisted in acknowledgement knowing that was right "I said that I'll try."

Once again reminding himself that he needed his brother's help if he was to succeed in getting Lana back and alienating Lois wouldn't be the way to get it, he muttered grudgingly but sincerely "I will too."

"How about we all try" Clark put in swiftly.

"Agreed" Smallville jumped in to round off the quartet.

"How about no one mention Lana at all, for the rest of the day" Martha stepped forward to propose hopefully.

"Actually mom, can I just say one more thing…" Smiling lopsided at her groan, he lifted one brow at his fiancé "Despite your words with Jerome, are you still of the same mind as you were earlier about Lana knowing?" At her nod, he looked at his younger brother and seeing he was ready for attack, told him in a voice meant to sooth "I told Lois about our argument earlier and she thinks that you were right about letting Lana know of our presence here, so I discussed it with Clark and we've decided that if you're still in favour of the idea, then ok." Seeing the suspicion on his Jerome's face, Smallville held up his hands "If it all goes pear shaped, please remember that it wasn't my idea but I am willing to take Lois' advice and trust your judgement on this call."

Torn between feeling grateful to her for backing him up, and shredded raw from all the accusations she'd made against Lana, he asked gruffly "Why?"

"Why not; I personally prefer telling the truth because then I'm not forced to remember what I've said and to whom." She explained easily "Telling lies for a particular reason, like you being a super powered alien for instance, is a necessity but lying when no one's even going to remember us being here, is pointless to my way of thinking."

Nodding shortly, he turned to the men and asked carefully "What are you planning to tell her?"

"The same thing we told you lot at breakfast this morning" Clark replied without hesitation.

Hoping the men and Lois were sincere and not up to some trick they couldn't foresee, Martha and Chloe mentally crossed their fingers, while Jerome deliberated what the outcome of revealing all could entail.

He'd wanted to be honest with Lana about the situation if only to prove to her, that trusting her wasn't his problem and had felt peeved when his brothers clamped down and said no, but now that the opportunity of telling her was granted, he wasn't sure that he was in favour of it after all; not if the apprehension in his stomach was anything to go by. However if he turned the offer down, he'd have to give them a reason for doing so after making such an issue of it earlier, but he couldn't think of one good enough that wouldn't cause them to doubt his faith in her.

The thought of how she'd receive the news that his two older brothers, both of whom were supposed to be future versions of him were in love with Lois, caused his stomach to twist in dread. He could smooth over any awkward questions that she might have regarding Smallville's feelings, but once Lana learnt of Clark's feelings about his marriage to her, no amount of smoothing over was going to paper over the cracks of any unpleasantness that would result from that disclosure. She'd be bound to question, if not outright doubt his future love and faithfulness to her.

This was Lois' doing. If she'd just minded her own business, instead of sticking her oar in where it wasn't wanted and suggesting the men listen to him, he wouldn't now have to think of how navigate through this newest minefield without being blown up in the process.

Great! This was just great; thanks for nothing Lois!

Becoming aware of everyone's eyes on him, he shrugged half-heartedly "I um…I don't know what to say."

"Well you'd better decide quickly if you're going to tell her or not. Lana said that if she could come today, that she'd be here around 4pm and it's 10 to now" Chloe interjected loudly.

Taking a swift look at his watch, Jerome felt his tummy churn and hoped that she wouldn't be able to come after all.

He barely had time to finish the thought before Chloe's phone rang.

Seeing the name on the screen, she clicked it on and smiled into the receiver "Hi Lana." Listing for a minute, she nodded "No, tomorrow's fine. Ok, see you then and thanks for calling." Clicking off, she looked at the group "Since you all heard, I won't bother stating the obvious."

Relieved, Jerome blew out a quiet breath of thanks "I'll think about it and let you know."

Likewise feeling relieved, Martha also blew out a deep breath and looking from Clark to Smallville to Jerome to Lois, said without ceremony "If there are going to be any more arguments, then I respectfully ask you to take them outside. Far outside where I don't have to hear it or worry that there's going to be bloodshed, clear!"

Eyes meeting fleetingly, the four nodded silently.

Turning towards the kitchen, she prayed there would be no more arguments or upsets that day and mentally tossing the idea of asking Lois for help in keeping the peace between her boys into the toilet, mumbled to herself "For the first time in years, I'm really feeling my age."

Hearing that, the four looked at each other and shifted their feet restlessly in shame.

oOo

_Approx. 8pm_

Jiggling Lois' arm when her eyes began to close, Smallville asked softly "Come for a walk."

"Hmm…what?" Yawning, she looked at him through bleary eyes "I'm tired, how about we leave the walk for tomorrow night."

"A short walk will tire you out enough, for you to sleep deeply when you go to bed" He replied and all but lifting her of the couch, coaxed and guided her out the front door after bundling her up against the cold.

At their exit, Clark got to his feet "This has been a long day so I'm for bed myself, I'll see you all in the morning." Pecking his mom on the check, he wished all good night and headed out the back door.

Likewise standing, Martha stopped beside the chair of her younger son and pressed a kiss against the top of his head "Goodnight honey."

"Night mom."

Hearing the melancholy in his voice, she asked softly "Promise that you won't stay up worrying all night."

"I promise to try" He replied truthfully.

Having to be content with that, she smiled lightly and wishing Chloe good night, also departed.

Looking at Jerome from the corner of her eye, Chloe chewed her lip wondering if she should say anything or not. On the one hand, he'd probably had more than enough for one day but on the other, he might be in need of an outlet. Where Clark, Smallville and Lois had each other to turn to, he really had no one except for her and his mom, who had declared themselves neutral about the situation BUT, it wasn't easy to remain neutral when her feelings about the matter, were starting to get in the way.

Clearing her throat to capture his attention, she asked quietly "Are you ok?"

"No, and I don't want to talk about it either."

Feeling relieved yet rotten because of it, she bobbed her head and remarked hopefully "I'm sure it will all work out for the best."

He looked at her then back at the TV without responding.

"Jerome…"

"Clark" He corrected swiftly but didn't bother to turn his head. Hearing the mutter and murmur of voices outside, he silently growled for the two outside to keep it down because he didn't want to listen to any of their lovey-dovey talk and concentrated harder on the TV.

"I haven't told Lois anything…" When he looked at her with brows raised in query, Chloe nudged softly "When you were arguing with her this afternoon, she said that I'd filled in some blanks for her but I haven't."

"She was talking about in the future, where I've also apparently told her a whole lot; too much if you ask me" He muttered resentfully before turning back to the TV once more.

After trying and failing several more times to engage him in conversation, she gave up and got to her feet "I'm feeling tired from a lack of sleep last night and all the upset today, so I'm going to go to bed."

Giving her a half-hearted smile, Jerome said quietly "I appreciate you trying Chloe, I really do but I don't want to talk about how I feel."

"I know, good night."

"Night."

Leaving the hall light on for the Lois and Smallville, Jerome switched off the kitchen and lounge room lights and making himself comfortable on the couch, crossed his arms behind his head and staring up at the darkened ceiling, ruminating over all that had been said that day.

While the argument he'd had with Clark and Smallville had been about his feelings for Lana. The argument he'd had with Lois, had been about Lana's feelings for him.

While his brothers had tried to make him believe that he didn't now, and never had loved Lana; Lois had insinuated that Lana didn't now, and never had loved anyone except herself. He was offended by both but it was Lois who'd caused the most damage to his peace of mind, simply because he could easily dismiss any arguments made the twins since he knew his own heart, but could only refute Lois' arguments by faith in Lana and until today, that had never faltered.

Unfortunately and he did think it was unfortunate, because no one had ever savaged his perception of Lana by attacking her behaviour so brutally before, he'd had no experience in how to defend it. If he'd had some, things might not have gone in Lois' favour so often but as it was, by the time Smallville stepped in to tell her enough, he'd felt like he'd been thoroughly grilled by the Gestapo and had made a poor showing of standing up under questioning.

Worse still and to his everlasting shame, she'd also caused him to look at Lana's actions with a jaded eye several times during their argument and since. That she'd caused him to doubt was unforgiveable. He just didn't know if it was her or himself that he was unable to forgive.

He wanted to have another go, if only to show her that nothing would ever lessen his love for Lana, nor cause him to feel anything other than animosity, towards anyone who tried to make her look bad in his eyes, but knew that such an action would be self-defeating. He needed the twins help if he was to attain his dream of a life with Lana and this time, have it end with happily ever after, and having a go at Lois would be the fastest way to getting his brother's off side.

Hearing a soft giggle, Jerome pulled the pillow over his head and determinedly blocked their voices from his ears, wishing they'd hurry up and go to bed then winced at the vision of the two of them in bed together that jumped into his head. Banishing that picture with the first and only time he'd slept with Lana, he sighed in both pleasure and sorrow at how wonderful that night had been and how awful every night had been since he'd let her go.

At the creak of the front door opening, followed by the sound of footsteps moving through the hall, he held his breath hoping it was only Lois retiring for the night, then rolled his eyes upon hearing the whispered endearments between her and Smallville. Mentally yelling at them to hurry up, he silently groaned at the sound of them kissing then sighed hugely in relief when they were gone, leaving him to the thoughts churning in his head.

oOo

Catching hold of Lois' hand, Smallville pulled her along to where the patio furniture was stationed and taking a seat on the settee, tugged her down beside him.

"Finally, I have you to myself at last."

"You had me to yourself earlier."

"Not for long enough…" Pressing his fingers against her lips to stop any playful words coming out, he continued soberly "Lo, I don't blame you for being annoyed with the fix we're in because of Lana…"

"You and Lana" She mumbled mutinously.

"Clark and Lana" He corrected in turn but seeing the look on her face, swiped one hand over his jaw "I don't think it's really fair to blame me but to make you happy; me, Clark and Lana…."

"Thank you."

At her interjection, his eyes narrowed "You little witch; you really enjoyed making me and Clark feel stupid by pointing out that all our big talk for why we broke up with Lana and wanted to save her from Lex, was nothing more than a hot air, didn't you?"

"As I said to Jerome, revenge really can be sweet" She grinned unembarrassed "I let you both of the hook fairly easily all things considered, but I still wanted my pound of flesh."

"Are you content now?"

"Yep."

Hearing the smugness in her voice, his lips twitched "Well having gained a victory over us, can you please be satisfied with that and not say anything to rile Jerome up again."

Stiffening, she retorted miffed "Are you accusing me of starting that fight"

Catching a nuance of contrition in her tone, he asked slowly "Did you?"

Steaming in silence for a second or two, she burst out finally "Yes but I didn't mean to; how did you know?"

"I didn't, until now."

Not mistaking the annoyance in his voice for anything else, she mumbled uneasily "If he hadn't all but called me Benedict Arnold just for talking to Lex it…"

"And how did Lex's name come up in conversation?" Smallville interrupted to ask blandly.

"That was my fault but I didn't tell Jerome for the sole purpose of riling him up; that came later" She admitted grudgingly.

"Start from the beginning."

Hating the feeling of being in the wrong, she exhaled noisily before saying somewhat awkwardly "I don't feel comfortable with him and I can tell the feeling's mutual so…."

"Why aren't you comfortable with him?"

Knowing that her relationship with Smallville, was the root cause of the resentment she could feel coming at her in waves from Jerome, but figuring that no good could come from tattling on the boy when he was entitled to his feelings, she only shrugged "Maybe because he's so different to you. Anyway when we got back earlier, you went to find Clark and I went inside the house and unfortunately, Jerome was the only one there. So the two of us began to make small talk and he said something to the effect of being worried that someone would have seen you in town and gotten suspicious, which is when I told him that I talked to Lex. I was about to tell him that you came in at the tail end of our conversation but didn't get the chance to, before he was demanding an explanation for why I'd talk to Lex in the first place." Pausing, she continued somewhat reluctantly "Well I'm not about to let anyone tell me who I can and can't talk to and when I told him as much, he replied that he didn't intend it that way and although I didn't believe him for a second because his tone of voice made it clear that was exactly what he was trying to do, I could have left the subject drop but instead decided to um…to purposely say something cutting about Lana knowing it would piss him off, and in turn give me the opportunity to say a whole lot of other things about her that I was dying to and although I can tell you're not happy about it, I'm not sorry for anything I said."

Striving for patience, he asked calmly "Can I ask why you deliberately said something mean about Lana, knowing what the result would be."

Giving him a fleeting look, she asked in a small voice "How angry are you?"

"Pretty angry."

Clearing her throat, Lois bobbed her head in acceptance of that.

"I'm waiting."

Clearing her throat again, she said quickly "I'm sorry, not for what I said to Jerome but because you asked me to keep a lid on it and I didn't. Once I started, I just could not make myself hit the mute button."

Feeling like he'd already been put through enough hell since discovering that his life had been messed about, and not in the mood to coddle anyone who could potentially threaten the possibility of getting his life back with his fiancé, and that included said fiancée who he loved but could happily strangle right at this moment, Smallville reiterated strongly "Explain Lois."

Knowing by the inflection in his voice that his temper was not to be trifled with, she began tentatively "You told me that you and Clark tried to make Jerome see that he didn't love Lana…" At his nod and narrow eye stare, she kept going "Well while you were sleeping, Clark and I had a bit of a chat and he told me that when he was a kid, he thought the only problem he and Lana had, was his secret. Basically, he said that he didn't look any deeper at her or their relationship because it was easier for him to believe that she was the prefect girl he'd fantasised about, rather than having to deal with the fact that she wasn't."

"Go on."

"Did you feel that way?"

Not about to be diverted, he repeated "Go on."

Addressing a point just beside his right ear to save having to look into his eyes, she said without flatly "I essentially told Clark that was a lot of rot. That I believed he was lying to himself all along and he knew it but just wouldn't face it, to which he said that I was right. So I decided to make Jerome face the truth whether he liked it or not."

"And you decided to take it upon yourself to do that, even though I had already told you I was hoping to try and make him see reason, in light of the fact that he's ruled by his emotions and our earlier disagreement with him didn't go down a treat and I was a tad worried because he's the one who gets to determine our fate, have I got that right."

Wiggling uncomfortably, but not willing to shirk responsibility or play dumb, she simply replied "Yes."

Standing up to pace around the porch, Smallville raked his hands through his hair and tugged hard "Lois, I'm trying to understand here, I really am but I don't. I don't understand why you'd purposely do what I specifically asked you not to, when all I'm trying to do is get our damn lives back. Why were you so determined to say anything about Lana when you know perfectly well that Jerome will excuse anything she does, and why couldn't you damn well trust me enough just to keep quiet? We're only going to be here for a couple of days but those couple of days could change our whole future don't you get that?" Striding back to her, he captured her chin in his hand and locked angry eyes on hers "You haven't been around through all of this crap Lois. You've either been comatose or happily engaged to Oliver, but I've had to suffer through it and so has Clark."

Feeling like a heel, she mumbled feebly "You said stuff to Jerome…"

"We said stuff about ourselves" He growled unappeased "We've been where he is now, so we know precisely how he feels about the future and destiny and Lana, and we also know exactly how he's going to feel about it all in a few years. Can you say the same?"

Swallowing heavily, she muttered red faced "No but..."

Rolling right over her protest, he snapped "I don't want to go back to the future if you're not in my life Lois, and I can guarantee if Clark's only option is to remain married to Lana, that he'd rather spend his life looking for an alternate world where there's a Lois he can be with; if such a thing even exists. Neither of us wants a future without you, and Jerome can make that happen."

"I'm sorry" She whispered unhappily.

"Sorry is not going to cut it Lois, why did you defiantly go ahead and do precisely what I told you not to?"

"Because I don't believe that any amount of talking is going to change his mind" She answered inaudibly.

Hearing her answer loud and clear, he asked crisply "Then why did you bother?"

"Because I wanted a say in any decision that he made" She answered simply "He wants Lana, he always has and we both know that. The future isn't important to him, not right now. When he thinks of the future, it's in regards to how he's going to be alone one day. You told me that's how you were and Jerome is you and I also remembered something else you said to me once…" Licking her lips, she said low voiced "…you told me it's the present that matters…"

Wincing, Smallville jumped in quickly "I wasn't myself Lois and neither were you; we were both drugged that night and I didn't say it was the present that mattered…."

"It was what you meant though and although I wasn't myself, you were" She told him softly "I don't remember that night but you've told me about it and you've also told me, that redK brings out your true or hidden feelings. Well when you were Jerome, it wasn't the past or the future that was important, it was the present and in the present, he wants Lana. That's not news to me but since my life is going to be affected by his choice, I decided that if he was going to marry her that he'd do it with his eyes wide open because I was going to make him. That's why I deliberately kept shoving her horrible and questionable behaviour right in his face, because I don't intend to give him any leeway to afterwards claim that he didn't know what she was really like before he married her. There was going to be none of this conveniently not looking beneath the surface or kidding himself how perfect she is crap. You and Clark managed to get away with that, because no one ever challenged you about her behaviour; well not this time." Looking her fiancée right in the eye, Lois told him softly "If I'm going to lose you, if Jerome is going to ruin my life by taking you away from me, then I wanted him to know that pleading ignorance of Lana's true character is not going to be a card that he can play in the future, because I was taking all his cards away from him today."

When she was finished, he nodded minutely in understanding "I see."

Not sure of his mood, she asked hesitantly "Are you still angry?"

"How can I be when you were fighting to hold onto me in the only way you know how, by using your tongue to good effect?" Smiling gently, he stroked one finger down her cheek "I don't know if anything you said will make a difference, but I appreciate you trying anyway."

"I won't say anything more, I promise."

"I think between you, me and Clark, we've all said enough to give Jerome plenty to think about but from here on in, let's try not to raise any subjects that have inflammatory connotations, ok?" At her nod, he offered generously "Should you feel the need to blow off steam or hit something, feel free to give me a good punch or two." At her giggle, he grinned and added "We're not going to be here for long babe, so I think we can afford to bite our tongue whenever Lana's mentioned."

"I'll try but I really don't like that girl."

"I never would have guessed after all the complimentary things you said about her today" He replied tongue in cheek.

Feeling put upon, she rolled her eyes but vowed solemnly "Ok, I'll be nice as pie about her from now on but just so you know, I don't just hate it, I hate the very idea of it."

"Me too" He said disappointed "Especially since I was really hoping to see you take her down."

Snorting out a laugh, Lois smacked his shoulder "I could take her down in less than ten seconds, so it's not worth the effort."

"Just the anticipation of seeing clothes getting ripped when women fight, is worth the effort" He informed her patiently.

Grinning, she returned promptly "There would be no ripped clothes if I just punched her in the face and knocked her out cold."

"You can do that but only after you let her tear your blouse and skirt off, so I can see you take her down while in your underwear" He told her seriously.

Chortling with laughter, Lois hugged him tight and whispered "one day", causing him to leave a smacking kiss on the side of her head.

"Hon?"

"Hmmm."

Leaning back, she cupped his face in her hands "I really think we need to come up with an alternate plan, because if we just sit here and wait for Jerome to decide, you know that we'll lose."

"I know it but I'm not willing to give up just yet" Likewise cupping her face, he said seriously "Baby I meant it when I said that I'd rather stay here with you, than go back to a future where I'm married to Lana. I'm not going to let anyone tell me that I have to let you go."

Smiling, she leant her forehead against his "Then we'd better come up with something."

"We will, I promise."

Reluctantly getting to their feet after talking for a little bit longer, Lois stopped at the front door but instead of opening, leant back against it and asked "By the way, who's bright idea was it for you to sleep in the barn and me in the house?"

"Mine" He confessed apologetically "Unfortunately, with the limited number of bedrooms we have, the only other option was for Chloe to sleep in the barn with Clark, or for him to share the bedroom with her. The first wouldn't be suitable for her and the second wouldn't be suitable for him."

Heaving out a deep breath, she said plaintively "We could have taken the lounge room and Jerome could have shared the barn with Clark; didn't you think of that?"

"I did but I thought that both of them deserved to get a break from each other at least while they're sleeping."

Bobbing her head in understanding, she said softly "I like him."

"Clark?"

"Mmm, you know how twins are sometimes different in personality; one is quiet while the other is flamboyant for example?" At his nod, she said "That's how the two of you strike me. I know that he is you but he's so different, that it's almost like he really is your twin brother."

"Well we've both had different life experiences for the past 8 years so it's not surprising" Smallville smiled lopsided.

"He's nervous with me" Looking up at him, she laughed softly "He reminds me of you when we first began dating."

"That's because he wants you to like him and I don't mean romantically. He just wants you to like him and is scared of putting a foot wrong, in case you get turned off."

She frowned uncertainly "Am I that much of a dragon?"

"Yes and we both like you that way."

Feeling all fluttery by the look in his eyes, she nudged hoping for more "You do; really?"

"Uh huh."

Unsatisfied with his response, she nudged harder "Why?"

Knowing what she was up to, he hid a smile and said simply "Just do."

Holding back a huff, she nudged a third time "How can you love a dragon?"

"Easily" He murmured and gently swiped his finger down the bridge of her nose "Now stop fishing for compliments."

"I like compliments" She replied so girlishly, that he was hard pressed not to scoop her up and fly them somewhere to be alone.

"Bed woman, before I forget that you expect me to keep my hands to myself" He threatened and reaching around her to grab the door knob, twisted it open.

Chuckling, she stepped inside and leaning up, pressed a kiss against his cheek "Goodnight."

"Hey wait a minute."

Not paying any attention to his outraged whisper, Lois turned for the stairs and let out a soft laughing admonishment when he swung her back and into his arms "Not so fast, I want a proper kiss goodnight."

Grinning, she wrapped her arms around his neck and after giving him a scorching one, dropped back down to her feet "Love you."

"Forever and ever?"

"Uh huh."

"That won't be long enough" He muttered dissatisfied "Say for all eternity."

"For all eternity" She whispered obediently and gave him a hopeful look "Now say it to me?"

"You'd better go to bed before I take you to mine."

"That's not what I asked for" She giggled lightly.

"The way you're rubbing yourself against me, I know what precisely you're asking for" He murmured low voiced and taking a step back, waved towards the stairs "Goodnight sweetheart."

Giving him a saucy wink, she turned and climbed the stairs, stopping at the top to give me a little wave before disappearing from sight.

Sighing hugely in disappointment, he headed for the back door and out.

In the loft, Smallville looked down at his lonesome mattress and sighed loudly once again, before throwing off his clothes and throwing himself down on his bed unhappily.

"What are you sulking about?"

Hearing the amusement in his twin's voice, he muttered moodily "That I'm stuck in here with you."

Laughing, Clark got up to switch of the light and bedded down once again "That's strange because I much I prefer to be stuck in here with you, to being in a nice cosy bed with my wife."

Brightening, Smallville smiled happily "It really could be worse, couldn't it?"

"Yep."

Hearing the conviction in his twin's voice, he settled down content.

oOo

_Approx. midnight_

Unable to sleep, Chloe climbed out of bed and stepped towards the window but rather than looking outside, she turned her head to look at her cousin lying peacefully asleep a few feet away.

So many emotions were roiling inside her that it was hard to distinguish which was the most dominant; happiness that Lois was alright, resentment that Clark Kent loved her and envy at their engagement.

Until today the only time she'd really felt jealous of Lois, was when she noticed Clark's reaction to her cousin's playful attitude after dunking him in the water tank but she'd managed to blow that off and forget it, when he'd still been solely focused on Lana; now though…seeing Lois getting everything she'd only dreamt of, hurt unbearably.

She didn't want to feel like this. She hated that the arrival of those from the future, had stirred up feelings and dreams that she'd thought had been savagely suppressed for good. This morning she'd simply felt sad when she saw the photo that Smallville had passed around, but as the day wore on and she recalled things the men had said to Jerome and saw the way they'd interacted with her cousin, she'd felt more and more inadequate. Despite all that she'd done for Clark, all that she'd given up for him and all that she'd given to him, she had never managed to breach his defences, or measure up in his eyes as anything more than a friend.

A friend!

She'd swallowed her pride and her hurt more times than she could count. She'd tried to give up on him, tried to let go of the love she had for him, and had tried not to build castles in the air of their future together, but it was hopeless. There was just something about him that pulled her back in every time. Jimmy, her job, Clark's cavalier attitude and even his feelings for Lana; none of them had been enough to put her off. For some indefinable reason, Clark Kent was her weakness. He didn't have to do anything, just be there and her pulse quickened and somewhere in a tiny corner of her heart that was reserved just for him, she'd harboured the hope that one day, he'd love her as she did him.

Now she knew that he wouldn't, and it just didn't seem fair.

Feeling the need for some fresh air, she wrapped herself up in a warm robe and grabbing her purse, left the bedroom silently to head downstairs. Pulling open the back door, she paused before stepping outside to look towards the lounge room. It was too dark for her to see Jerome lying on the couch but that didn't really matter. She knew his face as well as she knew her own. In contrast to him openly looking at his photos of Lana, she'd secretly looked at her photos of him but today for the first time ever, he'd looked awfully young to her.

She hadn't thought so before the arrival of his older brothers but afterwards, she couldn't help but make comparisons. Jerome still mattered to her as a person and as a friend but not as a romantic interest. Not because her feelings had changed, but because her perception of him had.

Before the arrival of their visitors, she could only imagine and dream about the future but after hearing Clark tell Jerome that he was just a memory, it had been borne in on her that she was too. The future was really there. People were living and loving and working and life was going on somewhere out there; and she was there too. There was a Chloe Sullivan in 2015 but she, Chloe Sullivan of 2007 and Jerome aka Clark Kent of 2007, were just memories who'd fade away like a light being switched off, when those from the future went back to their lives.

That thought had been drumming in her head and she was unable to banish it. Maybe because of that, it was Clark and Smallville's feelings for Lois that mattered, not Jerome's for Lana. He was going to grow up to be them, not vice versa. Which meant that one day, despite all that he'd said today, he was going to want Lois too.

Lois.

Stepping out the door, Chloe headed towards her car and settling behind the wheel, just stared out into the night as the lump in her throat began to grow.

One day in the not too distant future, the boy she'd always wanted was going to want her cousin. He was going to offer Lois his heart and his hand, and she was going to be left standing on the sidelines looking on yet again. He wasn't ever going to love her. He wasn't ever going to desire her, or offer her all the things that she'd secretly craved. She was never going to be the one he couldn't be without.

She'd managed to carve out a place for herself in his life but it hadn't been easy. She'd had to work hard for it while suppressing her emotions as best she could and in the final analysis, it still hadn't been enough; she hadn't been enough.

Why?

Why not her and why her cousin?

Her cousin who he'd said more than once, that he couldn't stand.

Her cousin whom he'd argued with about Lana, this very day.

Her cousin for god's sake!

"You've gotta be freaking kidding me!" Not feeling any better after speaking it out loud, she opened her mouth and screamed "ARGHHHHHHH, SHIT AND SHIT AND SHIT AND SHIT AND..."

When the car door flew open, she turned her head and narrowed her eyes threateningly.

"What's wrong Chloe, are you hurt? Why are you out here? Are you going somewhere? Do you need me to….?"

Not bothering to answer any of his questions, she cut in demandingly "Which one are you?"

Taken aback at the antagonism in her voice, he answered cautiously "Smallville."

"Smallville huh; well ok Smallville I've got a question for you" Climbing out of the car, she jabbed one finger against his chest and asked without preamble "Why not me? Why didn't you ever want me? What's wrong with me?"

Oh fuck, he thought dismally before beginning in a placating tone "Chloe..."

"No!" She cut him off annoyed "I don't want to hear any excuses and I don't want to hear any apologies and I especially don't want to hear you letting me down easy; I just want to know why?"

"Why don't we talk about his tomorrow?" He said peaceably.

Stepping closer, she pushed her face into his "NOW!"

"It's late and I really think tomorrow would be, umm…" Hearing the growl in her throat, he trailed of unsure of what to say and almost got down on his knees in thanks at the arrival of his twin.

"What's going on?" Clark asked concerned.

Not sure if she'd appreciate him sharing her upset with others but not willing to be left alone with her either, Smallville held out one hand helplessly, while grabbing Clark's arm with the other "Chloe and I were just saying good night so…"

"No we weren't" She interrupted heatedly "Don't try getting out of it or making up excuses for my benefit because I'm glad he's here." Looking from one man to the other but unable to see in the darkness, she growled "Let's go to the barn where I can see you and don't bother saying how late it is and suggesting we talk tomorrow because we're going to talk right now. I don't care how uncomfortable you feel now or how I'll feel in the morning, I just have to know."

"Know what?" Clark asked bemused then wished he hadn't, when she informed him tartly "Why you never wanted me."

Oh fuck!

Wishing that he'd kept out of it and/or had taken a late night flight and/or was anywhere in the world but there, Clark sent his twin a look that spoke volumes, as the two men turned and reluctantly followed her to the barn.

Mentally crossing their fingers that someone would come rescue them, they sat on the couch and silently watched as Chloe paced in front shooting out one question after another.

"Why didn't you want me?"

"Why didn't you love me?

"Why couldn't you at least try?"

"Was I lacking something? Did you not like my hairstyle or my clothes or my perfume? Was it the sound of my voice or the way I talk or the way I walk; what? What was it about me that turned you off?" Feeling wrung out and irked and just plain sad, she swiped at the tears on her cheeks and sniffled "Please don't give me platitudes; I've heard them all before. I just have to know, why not me?"

"I don't know Chloe; you want the truth and that's the answer" Smallville answered honestly "It wasn't because of your hair or your perfume or anything of that nature and I believe you know it. You are very attractive but I was just never attracted to you." Seeing her cringe, he paused before finishing regretfully "I'm sorry, but that's the truth."

Not wanting to hurt but unwilling to lie when she'd asked for the truth, Clark added delicately "I did try to feel romantic towards you and although it would have made my life a lot easier if I'd succeeded, you can't make something like that happen. It's either there, or it's not."

"And it wasn't there for me, is that what you're saying?"

"Yes" Smallville confirmed while his twin simply nodded.

"You don't find me desirable" She murmured hurt.

"Sometimes the spark of desire is just not there between two people, even when by all logical appearances it should be" Clark let her down gently "You just can't order or argue desire into being."

Wanting to cry because it had been there for her, she pushed aside the ache to asked sadly "Have you ever wanted me; even a little bit?" Noting their hesitation, her lips twisted "Should I take that as a no then?"

The men hesitated again, before simultaneously bobbing their heads in accord.

Slumping down on the seat in front of the desk, she nudged tentatively "What about that time when Pete and I were infected by that parasite and he used redK on you. We were in the Talon remember, and started to go at it on the couch but stopped when…." Trailing off at the shake of their heads, she firmed her lips to try and stop it quivering while looking from one to the other for an explanation.

Hating to see the bruised look on her face but knowing that she deserve nothing but honesty, both began to explain then stopped then started, before Smallville held out one hand for his twin to go ahead.

"As you know, redK doesn't change the person that I am Chlo, it only releases my inhibitions to do or take what I want." At her nod, Clark hesitated for a beat before stating baldly "I wanted was sex. I wasn't getting it and I didn't look to be getting it anytime soon; any girl would have done that day."

"Even Lana?"

"Yes" He replied, unsurprised at the question "You don't know this but the first time that I was infected by redK, I made it abundantly clear to Lana that I wanted her but I also made it just as clear, that I wasn't about to restrict myself to her and the minute she started to bore me, I simply blew her off. If it had been Lana with me on the couch that day in the Talon, I wouldn't have shown her any more consideration, than I would have shown you or any other girl. After getting what I wanted, I either would have zipped up my pants and moved onto the next girl, or gone to raise hell somewhere else."

"So I was just handy that day because I was infected" She confirmed and seeing their faces, asked candidly "Be honest please."

"You were handy that day because you were there when I was infected; not because you were" Clark corrected quietly.

"It really wasn't me was it?" At their head shakes, she cleared her throat and asked quietly "What does Lana and Lois have that I don't?"

Figuring it was his turn, Smallville looked at his twin "Let me field this one" and at the go ahead gesture, smiled somewhat abashed "There were a lot of reasons that I was attracted to Lana when I was younger and all of them bar one, were about me not her."

"What was the one?"

"Lust" He replied without hesitation "Once upon a time Chlo, it was simply the way of the world for young men to go out and sow their wild oats before settling down, while the women remained chaste until they were married, and that's just the way it was. No one thought any the worse of the men for it, and without getting into a philosophical discussion about the rights and wrongs of the double standard, things really haven't changed much since then as I'm sure you know."

Relived when she simply nodded instead of arguing the issue, he nodded in return and said "Personally, I was never one for indiscriminate sex. The one time I almost did, I was affected by redk and even then, I married Alicia first. For me, sex went hand in hand with love and marriage and because of all the fears that I had about my powers and my heritage and my future, I wasn't interested in spreading out my attention between a string a girls as a lot of guys are, but chose to focus it all on one girl. Sexually, I was very attracted to Lana and was naïve enough to believe that I loved her because of it. However, despite all the talking that I did about my feelings for her, my actions time and again, proved just how empty my words were. Clark, Lois and I have all tried pointing that out to Jerome today, but he's still very young and just doesn't see it. One day he will understand the difference between talking about being in love and actually being in love. Just as he'll learn as I have, that Lana isn't the one. She was just someone who I sowed my wild oats with before I grew up, fell in love and settled down to a life with Lois."

Knowing that Clark was married to Lana, she asked "Did you feel the same way?"

"As Smallville said, there were a lot of reasons that I was drawn to Lana which I don't think we need to go into now but suffice it to say, it wasn't until after we'd been married for some time that I learnt love, real love, didn't play any part in my feelings for her."

Understanding that he wasn't going to say more and figuring that in the scheme of things he'd said enough for her know, she asked quietly "And Lois."

Rolling his shoulders, Smallville sighed "When I first met her, I couldn't see past the bold personality and now I don't understand, how I didn't love her for it straight away." Smiling crookedly, he told her openly "In the future where I come from, Superman is considered a symbol of hope to the world, but my symbol of hope is Lois. I can't explain why it's her better than that Chloe. I could try and I could certainly tell you things she's done which have inspired me and won my admiration over and over again, but none of them would scratch the surface of explaining why Lois is the woman of my heart."

Not bothering to ask Clark since she could see by the look on his face that he shared his twin's feelings, she nodded and pressed her lips together to stop them trembling. Looking down at the ground, she said low voiced "I told myself that I was over you. I've told myself that so many times, it's almost become my daily mantra. I've tried to move on with Jimmy but you're always there. I've tried to let go and when I couldn't, I told myself the only reason that I cared so much was because you were my best friend and I was your secret keeper, but that's not true." Lifting her head, she looked at them with shining eyes and tried to hold back the tears that wanted to fall "I kept hoping that one day you'd realise that the girl you simply thought of as a friend, was the one you really loved. You were supposed to see that and I kept holding onto that, why couldn't that be my story?"

Not knowing what to say the men looked at her wordlessly, knowing that nothing they tried to say now would be of any comfort to her.

Swiping one hand over her cheeks, she got to her feet and turned towards the stairs "I know that I asked for the truth but it's hard to…" Breaking off she said fiercely "I wish that I didn't care, I wish that I never had."

"Chloe…" Stopping when Clark called her, she held up one hand but didn't turn around "Please don't tell me that one day I'm going to be over it and won't care anymore. Today isn't that day and right now I really don't want to hear it."

Not stopping her a second time, the men waited until she was safely back inside the house before turning to each other.

"I'll be glad when we're back in our time" Smallville groaned feelingly.

"I'll be glad when this is all over and none of us even remember tonight because it won't have happened" Clark declared frankly "For the first time, I actually appreciate the fact that because she was too scared of my answer, Lana didn't start up one of those hideous conversations and ask me about Lois."

Shuddering, he rubbed his hands over his face "What'd we do in the morning? How are we supposed to act with Chloe then?"

"Don't ask me."

"You're the one who's married?"

Clark snorted loudly "So what; that doesn't give me special license to know how to act with a woman who….."

"A kid; she's just a kid" Smallville put in swiftly.

"She's still a female isn't she?" Clark retorted unhelpfully.

"Then we'll take our cue from her…" Pausing he asked cautiously "Do you think we can trust her?"

"What'd you mean, she's Chloe."

"Clark, this Chloe is just a kid" He repeated firmly "She asked us for the truth and we gave it to her but that doesn't make it any more palatable. Her ego's just taken a pretty big knock, so her emotions are bound to be more volatile than normal."

"Yeah but although she's hurt by what we said, I think she'll realise that getting the truth without any frills, is better than if we'd waffled with a lot of bullshit. We've done that to many times in the past. How many times did we tell her that we didn't care for her romantically, and then turned around and use her feelings for us against her, to get what we wanted?"

"We did it all the time" Smallville recalled grimly.

"Exactly" Clark nodded unhappily "So although we didn't say anything she wanted to hear tonight, we also didn't try to butter her up with false charm just to keep her sweet."

Nodding slowly, he yawned and lay back down on his mattress "The next time I hear Chloe yelling curses at no one, I'm going to pretend that I'm deaf."

Laughing tiredly, Clark switched off the light and threw himself down on to his own mattress "I'm going to zoom away so she can't find me just in case."

"Good idea, I'll do that too" Smallville muttered feelingly.

oOo

Walking slowly back to the house, Chloe sighed and swiped the back of her hand over her cheeks.

She wanted to yell. She wanted to scream and cry at the unfairness of whom love chose to bless and whom it chose to curse. She wanted to be angry at the men for being so frank and blame them for leaving her to feel so rotten but couldn't. She'd insisted on torturing herself by demanding they be honest, even knowing that whatever they said was bound to hurt.

She wanted to accuse them for keeping her holding on but couldn't do that either. While it was true that Clark had played fast and loose with her feelings on occasion, he'd also told her straight out that he wasn't interested, when she'd thrown herself at him. She was the one who'd persisted in taking the flimsiest things as evidence of his feelings for her, and blown them up into big things. The few times they'd kissed, she'd been the instigator. She had kept trying to make him desire her and he'd kept on saying no. She'd know all along that she'd never stood a chance just by observing his behaviour with Lana. For a somewhat shy guy, Clark Kent wasn't shy about ensuring the object of his affection knew that he was attracted; he pursued, he made all the overtures and he did all the running. He had never done that with her, she had done it to him.

And then today, the signs of the men's regard for her cousin had been glaringly obvious, to anyone who'd been paying attention. She'd seen it in the way they'd fussed around Lois when she woke up after her nap. She'd caught the occasional look of tenderness on Clark's face when Lois wasn't aware. She'd noticed an attitude of proprietary in Smallville's manner, as if he was claiming Lois as his own; his eagerness to be alone with her, the glances he'd sent her way during dinner, the way he'd seized her hand and held while watching TV, his coaxing her outside before bedtime for a spot of stargazing together.

She'd been a silent witness to it all.

Sniffling, Chloe looked up at the sky and sighed.

If he had ever wanted her, he would have ensured that she knew it. He would have let her know that her feelings were reciprocated, not unwanted.

She didn't feel better but one day she apparently would be over him; for her that day couldn't come soon enough.

oOo

_Next Day: approx. 9am_

Keeping her fingers crossed that today would be a lot better than the previous one, Martha watched her sons covertly as they entered the house in what seemed to be a companionable mood, after taking care of the morning farm chores together.

"Sweeties, can one of you set the table; breakfast will be ready in a couple of minutes?"

"I'll do it as soon as I've washed up mom" Jerome volunteered readily.

Trying to ignore the awkwardness she felt upon coming face to face with the men, Chloe descended the stairs to the kitchen with an overly loud "good morning everyone" and smiled bashfully in thanks when both Clark and Smallville returned her salutation, without making a production out of it. Waiting until all three males had trooped out to the washroom, she hurried down the steps and over to Martha's side to whisper "How are things so far?"

"So far so good; they've been quite friendly and pleasant with each other, without even a hint of disagreement in sight" She replied quietly relieved "I'm just hoping that if Lana does come today, that she doesn't do or say anything to start them up again."

Grimacing at the notion, Chloe lowered her voice "Do you think I should secretly give her a call and tell her not to come?"

The older woman simultaneously shook her head and shrugged "I don't know if it's a good idea just to get her visit over with or if we should try and prevent her from coming altogether." Lowering her voice further, Martha murmured somewhat hesitantly "I'm concerned about my son's arguing with each other about Lana, but in her presence I'm hoping they'll remember to behave as gentlemen should; it's Lois that I'm concerned about. She's a female and so is Lana, so she might not feel the need to hold back."

Blowing out a heavy breath, Chloe bobbed her head in understanding "Lois isn't one to waste time on pleasantries at the best of times, but she did agree not to say anything more."

"She said that she'd try" Martha reminded her worriedly but upon hearing the footsteps of the men, said out loud "Chloe once the tables set, can you please carry the platter of bacon and eggs to the table."

"I'll do it mom" Clark said before she could answer "Chlo, can you get the orange juice and milk from the fridge and the pot coffee."

"I'll get them Chlo, if you wouldn't mind getting the bread, butter and condiments" Smallville put in before she could utter a word.

Nodding she did as asked, grateful to have a minute to herself to once again batten down the discomfiture, that sprang up at the reappearance of the men.

Grateful to have something to occupy herself with and thus give herself time to batten down her emotions, she did as asked before taking a seat at the table.

Setting the plate of hotcakes down, Martha joined those already seated at the table with the query of whether they should wait for Lois before starting.

Taking a peek upstairs to see his fiancée fast asleep, Smallville snagged a piece of bacon and advised straight faced "She's still asleep mom and if we wake her up, she won't thank us for it."

"I did give her a shake" Chloe put in helpfully "But she swore at me."

"That's Lo and just watch, when she does finally drag herself downstairs, she'll grumble at all of us for not waking her up" He grinned in return.

"She was always very pleasant with me whenever I had to wake her up for work" Martha countered chidingly.

"That's because she was on her very best behaviour with you and dad, but I never generated such lady like behaviour from her mom, and that hasn't changed even though we're now engaged" He replied solemnly.

Laughing at the twinkle in his eye, she gave up and swept out a hand to the table "In that case, everyone dig in."

Taking her at her word they did so but other than requests for one thing or another to be passed, conversation was minimal as the minds of each person seated at the table, was occupied with the situation they all found themselves in.

Recalling their cautiously friendly conversation while doing the farm chores, Jerome, Smallville and Clark ate their breakfast with every enjoyment, while hoping their first peaceful chat wouldn't be their last and took heart that while none of them had raised any earth shaking topics, neither had any incendiary one's been brought up either.

Martha silently hoped that the calm which was present at the moment, would continue for the rest of the day, while Chloe tried her best to concentrate only on the present turmoil they were all in the midst off, instead of the turmoil going on inside due to the laceration to her heart and pride at the men's words the previous night.

Sitting back nursing cups of coffee half an hour later, the talk around the table was of a warily casual manner which cut off abruptly, at the ringing of Chloe's phone. Taking a look at name on screen, she clicked it on and all but said as casually as possible "Hi Lana."

Knowing she was the centre of attention, Chloe listened to the caller while smiling nervously at all present "Uh huh, no Lois really is fine now but since the doctor insisted she take it easy for a couple of days, she's not planning to go back to work until next week just in case." Listening, she nodded along before saying "If you're busy and don't.…oh great, I'm sure Lois will be happy to see another friendly face. Yeah, having a coffee sounds great but rather than getting together at the Talon, how about we have it here at the Kent farm. That's where we are now and since we were intending to stay here for the day in case she has a relapse…no, no, she's fine but at least by being here there are other people around just in case. Ok, see you then; bye."

Feeling like she'd just been put through the inquisition, she hung up and blowing out a heavy breath, said without ceremony "She'll be here about 11am, so you'd better decide if you're going to tell her or not."

"It's Jerome's decision" Smallville remarked calmly.

Knowing that his time of dissembling was over, Jerome felt his heart slam against his rib cage. In approximately 90 minutes, Lana was going to be here and despite always saying that she wanted the truth, would she able to handle it when the truth he had to share, was that two older versions of him from the future were here, and neither of them loved her.

Would she believe him when he told her that despite the example of his older doppelgangers, that he knew his love for her would remain steadfast? Would she trust him when he explained that he believed Clark and Smallville had simply taken a wrong turn in life somewhere, which had led to their emotional estrangement from her and he was trying to discover it so that it never happened to them. Would she trust him enough to give him her hand and join her life with his?

And if he said no, that he'd changed his mind and didn't want to tell her the truth, would he effectively be saying that he didn't trust her love for him. Then again, if by happenstance she discovered that he had visitors from the future and hadn't told her, she'd be angry anyway. Especially if she deduced that the reason he'd kept them quiet, was because he didn't trust her to believe in his love.

His mind in a whirl, Jerome looked from one person to the next; aware they were all waiting for him to decide and sighed in relief upon finding a loophole. Lana wasn't going to remember that he'd even had visitors, so it didn't matter what details were disclosed to her about his brother's lives, but he could find out how she felt. He could know where he stood in her heart, once and for all.

Feeling pleased, he smiled confidently "I want her to know."

"Ok then when she arrives, one of you can give her a heads up before Clark and I join you all to fill her in. That way she won't see us and ask a lot of questions, before you have a chance to speak; fair enough?" Smallville asked looking from one brother to the other.

"Fair enough" Jerome agreed while Clark simply nodded.

Looking towards the stairs as Lois rushed down, Smallville greeted her jovially "morning babe."

Ignoring him and all the other morning wishes sung out at her, Lois swept her eyes wildly around the room before focusing on Martha "Mrs Kent I…I…need….I..." Feeling overwhelmed, she began to hyperventilate helplessly in panic.

Alarmed, everyone jumped to their feet as Martha yelled "Someone get her a paper bag."

Talking soothingly to the young woman, Martha managed to get her to the couch and taking the bag from Clark's outstretched hand, passed it to Lois. Taking a seat in front of her on the coffee table, Martha said softly "Watch me sweetie, breathe deeply."

Keeping her eyes fixed on the older woman, Lois dragged in a deep lungful of air and let it out slowly, then did it again and again and again until the dizziness that had almost caused her to black out a moment ago began to pass.

"Smallville, has this happened to Lois before?"

Shaking his head in response to Chloe's question, he continued to rub the small of his fiancée's back and let out the breath he'd been holding, when Lois' colour returned to normal.

Feeling steady enough to remove the bag from her face but keeping tight hold of it just in case, Lois said hurriedly "Mrs Kent, I need…can you…I want…."

"Lois dear, I'll help you in any way that I can but first you need to calm down, or you'll start hyperventilating again."

"I need….I should…home…" Stopping to take a shaky breath, she tried again "I need to get home."

Not understanding, Martha took a seat on the couch beside Lois and putting an arm around the girl's shoulders, felt the inner shaking of her body "Can one of you get the bottle of sherry from the liquor cabinet and pour her some."

"She hasn't eaten anything mom" Jerome reminded her worried.

"I know but she needs to calm down, more than she needs food right now" Martha said concerned "If someone could make her something to eat, she can have it after a couple of sips of sherry."

Nodding, Smallville jumped off the couch and dashed into the kitchen as Clark returned with the sherry and swiftly pouring some out, offered the glass "Here Lo, sip this."

Instead of doing as suggested, she threw the contents down her throat and held out the glass for a refill then a third, before flopping back against the couch and holding out a hand "Just give me the bottle."

"You need to eat something before you drink anymore" Martha advised quietly but firmly.

Not sure if she could choke down anything solid but knowing the older woman was right, Lois smiled half-heartedly in thanks at the plate being held out. Picking up the pop-tart, she grimaced and bit in, chewing unhappily.

Not sure if the young woman was deep in thought or gathering her thoughts before speaking, Martha nudged gently "Lois dear, can you tell me what's wrong?"

Dragged out of her reverie by the touch on her hand, Lois blinked and sighed in melancholy "Mrs Kent, do you remember your wedding day? How excited and happy you felt; how much you loved the man you were going to marry?"

Surprised by the question, she nevertheless replied "Yes I remember every detail, especially how much I loved my Jonathan." Receiving nothing more than a nod in response, Martha prodded again "Lois dear; what's wrong?"

"This is supposed to be the happiest day of my life Mrs Kent" Firming her lips when they trembled, she swallowed down the ball lodged in her throat and continued unhappily "I went to sleep last night feeling happy and excited about the future but not nervous, not even a little bit. I thought that I would be you know. I thought that I'd be feeling scared because it's such a huge step and I've never been married before but I knew that I was doing the right thing, so I felt good. I felt really, really good." Tossing down the uneaten portion of the pop-tart, she pressed her fingers against her temples "I expected to wake up feeling all those things you did on your wedding day but when I woke up, everything was wrong. I wasn't in my own bed, in my own room or even in my own home. I was here at your farm but I don't remember coming here and I swear to you, other than a couple of glasses of champagne I didn't drink last night because I wanted to be sure that I was clear headed for the ceremony this morning but there's no way I can get to Gotham in less than…" Looking at the clock she winked away the tears that flooded her eyes "…less than 40 minutes. I planned our wedding so meticulously but I couldn't plan for this when I didn't even know it was going to happen, and what man in his right mind would believe that I didn't get cold feet and run away, when I'm not walking down the aisle towards him but living it up elsewhere and can't even explain how it happened."

At her words, Smallville looked at Clark and saw the same dread on his face that he knew was on his own. Knowing what must have happened and who was responsible but not knowing how, the two men looked at each other helplessly.

Sweeping her eyes over those present, Martha focused on her two eldest son's "I don't understand what Lois is saying. Were you two expecting this, do you know what's going on?"

"I wasn't expecting it but I think that I do know what's going on, I just don't know how" Smallville ground out furiously.

"I'm certain that what you're thinking; is exactly what I'm thinking" Clark growled in turn.

"How can you know?" Jerome asked disbelievingly.

"What are you both thinking?" Martha looked from one to the other.

"Tell us what's going on" Chloe rounded out speedily.

Not paying any attention to them, Lois picked up the bottle from the coffee table where Martha had placed it and taking a big gulp of Sherry, then a second for good measure followed by a third, started to feel a less sorry for herself and a little more like a woman with a mission on her hands "I'll have to call Bruce first and tell him that I don't know how it happened but I'm here in Smallville and you just watch; that won't settle him down. He'll get all intense and put me through the third degree about who I've pissed off lately and why couldn't I stop with all my nonsense, like he's one to talk and instead of listening to me telling that it doesn't matter who did what, that I'm going to marry him today, he'll still be rabbiting on about what bad guy is after my head now. But I'm not going to listen to him, I'll just tell him that although I might be a little late that I will be at the church and he'd better damn well be waiting for me and even though I'm obviously not going to have time to grab my wedding dress, the one that cost me a bloody fortune by the way, nor have time to pretty myself up for him because I'm going to be spending all my time just trying to get to Gotham for the wedding instead of worrying about how I look, he'd better remember that he's taking me on for better or worse and marry me even though I must look like a fright."

Unaware that she now had everyone's attention, she continued mumbling to herself "I could call Superman but I'm not really keen on that idea given our past…not that we actually have what you could call a past. Unless you think that me fancying him like mad and him leading me on until I finally got wise and told him to get lost, is a past. Not that I do but some people do and…"

"Lois!" Smallville called loudly.

"What?" She frowned irritated at having been torn from her thoughts.

"There's something you need to know…"

"No, no, no and NO!" She looked at him and stated militantly "I'm not interested in knowing how I got here or what freaky thing is out there. I don't care. Right now I'm only interested in hearing ideas on how to get me to the church on time so that I can become Lois Lane-Wayne." Making a yuck face, she muttered miffed "Bruce was right; it sounds really stupid and with a name like that, people will think I'm a ditz. Maybe if I say it over and over I'll get used to it, for now though I'll stick with Lois Joanne Wayne, except for professionally of course. I'm still going to write under Lois Lane and you should have heard him go on about that. Anyone would think I'd kicked his favourite car the way he carried on but I've agreed to use Wayne in all other instances so he owes me; he doesn't think so but I do."

Hoping this was just some stupid glitch but knowing that it wasn't, Smallville held himself back from punching a fist through the wall and asked with something perilously close to a snap "You're marrying Bruce Wayne?"

"Supposed to be" She confirmed and taking another peek at the clock, her mouth turned down "People will begin arriving soon and they'll all look lovely and the church will look beautiful with banks of flowers and whatnot everywhere and the music will begin and Bruce…" Taking a swig of sherry, she sighed dolefully "…he'll be standing at the alter looking really handsome but I won't be there to walk down the aisle towards him because I'm here and…" Stopping, she caught herself up before finishing crisply "…and I'm not talking to you anyway."

Side-tracked by her latest revelation, he asked baffled "Why aren't you talking to me?"

"Don't try and play dumb with me Clark Ke…." Trailing off upon noticing a second Clark and then a younger Clark, she blinked owlishly at all three, before handing the bottle to Martha "I'd better not have anymore."

"You're not drunk Lo; there are three of them" Chloe supplied helpfully.

Swinging her head around at the voice, her eyes widened "You're here too Chlo! You're one of my bridesmaids; you're supposed to be helping me get ready. How did you get here? Do you know how I got here? Do you know how we can get back? How come…?" Pausing for a beat, she frowned and looked at Martha "Come to that; how come you're not in Gotham for my wedding Mrs Kent. I know that Clark refused to come, not that I care but you accepted…" Stopping, she held up one hand palm outward and announced resolutely "Never mind; forget I asked. I don't have the time to think about it, to question why any of us are here or why there are multiple Clark's or anything. I'm sure it's all due to some weird Smallville crap that's going on. I just need to go." Sweeping her eyes over the assembly, she asked pleadingly "Does anyone have a suggestion of how I can get to Gotham in…" Taking yet another look at the clock, she winced "….in about 20 minutes. The service doesn't start for another 30 but if I can at least take the time to brush my teeth before rocking up at the church in my nightdress, it may not be so bad but if no one has any ideas, then I'm going with the only one that I can come up with even though I'm not in favour of it."

Jumping in before she could start up again, Smallville told her forthright "Lois you're in 2007, not 2015."

"Don't be ridiculous" She waved him off dismissively before opening her mouth and screaming at the top of her lungs "**SUPERMAN!**"

At her ear splitting yell, the three Kryptonians slapped their hands over their ears, the two humans flinched and before the last decibel had faded, Lois was off the couch and running for the front porch, hoping to see big blue headed her way.

"Mom, can you please go and try to convince Lois that she's not in 2015 and if you can, find out why she's not talking to Clark Kent. In the meantime, Clark and I will see if we can figure out how this happened and who's responsible."

Feeling out of her depth by what was going on, Martha asked confused "Sweeties, is Lois not the same woman she was yesterday?"

"No mom, she's not." Clark replied flatly "Something must have happened in the future, to cause this change in her. I don't know what was done, who did it or why Smallville and I haven't been affected, but we need to try and figure it out, before we can do anything else."

"Mom…" When her eyes to him, Smallville added helpfully "Lois isn't going to remember anything that happened yesterday because for her, it didn't happen. So don't waste your time trying to nudge her into it. Just talk to her, try and keep her calm until we get back ok?"

Hearing Lois scream for Superman once again, Martha hastened towards the front door with a backward wave of acknowledgment, while at the nod from Smallville, Clark turned with his twin and headed towards the back door.

"Hey, where are you guys going?" Chloe called at the same time that Jerome said "I don't get how you expect to figure it out."

At their voices, the men swung around "To answer your question Jerome; we don't know if we can or not, we're just going to compare notes and see if we are on the same wavelength, even if we are there's no guarantee we'll be able to do anything about it." Turning to the next, Smallville said "To answer your question Chloe, we're going to talk about it somewhere private because we're going to be talking about events and people in the future, and you lot can't be involved in that."

Not waiting for any further questions, the men walked out the back door.

Turning to Jerome, Chloe sighed dispiritedly "I'm used to being in on the action with any crisis you're having."

"The only crisis I have is cleaning up the breakfast things, you can help with that" He replied aloud while his mind churned and turned.

oOo

Appearing out of thin air on the sidewalk out front of a church in Gotham City, three visitors from the future pretended not to hear the mutters from the few people who took note of their sudden appearance and quickly walking to blend in with the crowd, ducked into the nearest alley way.

"We need to get to the farm, I'll meet you there" Not waiting for a reply, the man who spoke zoomed up into the sky and took off at super-speed.

Arriving minutes later, Diana and J'onn, found Jerome senior standing outside the house with a dispirited look on his face "We're too late."

"How do you know?" Diana asked calmly.

"Lois just said it was her wedding day" He replied listlessly "I should have known when we arrived outside the church in Gotham, that she's supposed to be marrying Bruce at today in our time."

Trying to concentrate and read those inside the house, but finding it difficult due to there being three Clarks inside and one out, all of whom were talking to themselves silently, J'onn swiftly slipped inside the better to focus on of those present.

Listening to the discussion going on inside the house, Jerome senior's face contorted even as his eyes watched and assessed the people therein. Turning at the tap on his shoulder to find J'onn had re-joined himself and Diana, his mouth turned down "I don't know what we're supposed to do now. I expected us to arrive here this time yesterday, so that I'd have time to stop this from happening but I brought us here a day late" Smiling without humour, he added bitterly "I couldn't even get the date right much less the location."

"Do not reproach yourself so harshly my friend. It is natural that your emotions at this time, made it difficult for you to fixate clearly on where you needed to be" J'onn said sympathetically.

Not wanting to be soothed, he headed towards the barn "We'd better get out of sight before anyone sees us." Leading the way, Jerome senior waited until they were in the loft before saying firmly "I'm not leaving until I tell Smallville and Clark what I did; they deserve that much at least."

"No one's leaving; we're going to stay and help straighten this situation out" Diana replied just as firmly.

Sending her a grateful smile, he replied quietly "Thank you Diana, I just wish that I knew what we could do."

"We have not been here for long my friend. Maybe after we talk with the others, we will have some idea of what can be done." Pausing for a beat, J'onn began tentatively "Clark…"

"Call me Jerry while we're here J'onn" He interrupted to request "There's already a Clark, a Smallville and a Jerome in this time and since I'm older Jerome, Jerry will do."

Nodding in reply, he carried on "The two older Clark's know that due to the change in Lois, that something has happened in the future, but they are confused as to how it was possible. While they believe it is Lana who is responsible, they do not understand many things, including why they have not been affected. The younger Clark is worried and anxious at what has happened."

"I'll bet he is" Jerry swiped one hand over his face "I don't need to read his mind to know that he's worried or why. He knows as well as I do, that all of this is a direct result of his actions last night."

"When you were Jerome 8 years ago on this morning, did Lois come downstairs and reveal that she was engaged to Bruce?" Diana asked inquisitively.

"No and I remember feeling a combination of expectancy and fear" He replied low voiced "Not that what I did had worked, but that it hadn't because there was no way for me to know until later."

Hearing that, J'onn now understood the dual feelings he'd sensed and half formed thoughts he'd read in Jerome, along with the guilt the boy was trying to pretend wasn't there "You told Dianna and I, that 8 years ago when Clark and Smallville came from the future, that by recalling things they had revealed accidently, that you realised it was not them who was the master of your future but you; this is correct?" At the nod, he revealed "They are not looking at Jerome as the cause, because they are still hopeful that he will not see that as you did."

"He already has" Jerry replied dully "I figured it out on the first day and he's me. Everything about the day my older selves arrived from the future is entrenched in my memory. I've forgotten nothing, not even how smug I felt when I realised it wasn't their existence which determined my future, but my decision that would establish all of ours." X-raying through to the house, he looked at Jerome and murmured almost to himself "I know that's me in there but it feels like I'm looking at stranger."

"In a way you are" Dianna said kindly "That boy in the house is far removed from the man you are today."

"It took a lot of hard lessons and a lot of painful self-reflection to become the man I am today Diana, and I wouldn't have had to go through any of it, if I'd cared about more than just getting what I wanted when I was that stubborn boy in the house." He responded while keeping his eyes fixed on those inside "Clark told me that if I didn't stop lying to myself, that one day I'd be paying the same bill that he had. Well I didn't stop until the damage was done and it was far too late for me to do anything but cry about it, and here I am exactly as he predicted."

Seeing the two men stepping outside the house, he watched them for a minute before informing his companions "Smallville and Clark are heading this way and I have a feeling when they hear what I have to say, they're not going to waste time saying, I told you so; they'll just go straight for my throat."

"I'm sure they won't" Diana reassured semi-amused.

Recalling the fury that had almost been shouted at him from both men, J'onn sent her a look that spoke volumes.

"If they try, well stop them" Dian corrected swiftly.

Turning around, Jerry saw the looks passing between them and said seriously "Maybe getting a well-deserved thrashing, will make me feel better for the first time in a long time."

At the sound of footsteps coming up the stairs, Jerry prepared himself for what he knew was going to be a very unpleasant reunion but rather than looking for an escape route, moved to stand beside J'onn and Diana as the men he'd once resented and now felt ashamed to see, reached the top of the landing.


End file.
